Attractive Force
by Manwards
Summary: A chance online encounter is the beginning of a romantic mystery for Ami. Who is the intelligent, conflicted Shynkon and what is his connection to a sinister plot that threatens to tear Tokyo from its very foundations?
1. Prologue

Hopeless. 

Shynkon had never felt more hopeless in his admittedly short existence. Hopeless, but not powerless. Powerlessness would have been a blessing. That was the problem: the terrible power he spent almost every moment of every day working to unlock; to unleash on a populace no more deserving than the last. Or any of those before them.

Over and over again he had told himself that he had no choice, that they were forcing him to do their deplorable work against his own will. The latter might have been true, but not the former. Shynkon knew he had a choice. He could simply choose to refuse to assist them any longer. The only price he would have to pay was his own termination. Was his own existence worth more than the lives of countless innocent people? No, of course it wasn't.

He was just so afraid.

So it went on. A cycle of needless death that he was an integral part of. That made him a murderer. A monster. There were so many words to describe a being like him. His own personal favourite was 'coward'. Sure, there was that vague threat against his kin, and in his more positive moments he liked to think that he was protecting them. But were _they_ worth more than the millions who would perish when his task had been completed? Deep down, all things being equal, he knew they weren't.

'Selfish'. There was another word.

There wasn't much time left until the city beyond his confines would be torn from the earth by its roots. Millions of stars would flare desperately and burn out in an instant. Then they'd be moving on, to another place and another unsuspecting population, to do it all again. Perhaps next time, he'd have the courage to stop.

Next time.

Perhaps.

Each night brought a brief respite from his work. In this time, hidden from his hateful captors, he was able to reach out and learn more about this place and its people. What had initially seemed a welcome chance to study now served only to upset him further. Why discover more about the people whose blood would soon be on his proverbial hands? But then, what else was there to do with his ironically named "leisure" time? To consider his own worth and ignore the inexorable conclusion each time? To think of a way to stop this cycle from completing itself once more?

Hopeless. It was all hopeless.

'Alone.'

Not for the first time, he found himself longing for somebody to talk to. Not that anybody could help him. Not that anybody could end this ordeal. Just somebody to talk to, for just a little while, so he wouldn't be alone. Somebody kind. But was there anybody like that out there?

Anybody at all?


	2. Chapter 1

The slowly setting sun was a full stop to mark the end of another pleasant summer day in Tokyo. 

Thoughts of English punctuation left Ami's mind as she scrolled back the window beside her bed and took a deep breath of fresh, warm air. A light breeze quickly got to work at drying her freshly-washed, ink-blue hair and her eyes, similarly coloured, seemed to shine beneath the fading orange glow of the sky. A contented smile lit up her delicate features.

Her bedroom was situated in an apartment building that was one of many in the area. The surrounding complexes were thick concrete rectangles and silhouetted against the sinking sun, Ami liked to think they were soldiers clad in dark uniform, standing stiffly at attention and keeping guard over her own home. Quite unlike the functional blocks that were the other buildings, it was a higgledy-piggledy pile of a structure, asymmetric in design and surrounded on all sides by trees, shrubs and hedges, giving the impression that the building had simply grown out of the ground amongst them.

She remained there for a while, sitting cross-legged on her pink bedspread, listening to the gentle murmur of people and traffic from the street below. The breeze tugged lightly at her loose, powder blue pyjamas and ruffled the leaves of the tall palm plant that stood at the foot of her bed. A glance over her shoulder at the minimal clock mounted on the wall informed her that it was almost time for bed. Taking one last deep breath of the evening breeze, she slid the window to a close and turned around.

Bookshelves dominated the majority of the opposite wall, each stacked with various reference texts to aid in her studies. Studying was something that Ami had always taken very seriously, and unlike her friends she didn't find it to be a chore. The acquisition of knowledge, and its application, were things that not only came easily to her, but that she enjoyed. She aspired to use this gift for learning to help others, by following in her mother's footsteps and becoming a doctor. That was her dream and she dedicated a great deal of time towards realising it, but it didn't mean her interests were confined to medicine alone.

A pair of trophies vied for attention atop one shelf: a blue fish indicant of her swimming prowess, her favoured form of exercise, and a black horse's head atop a wooden plinth telling of her skill at chess. Above these, framed certificates awarded for various academic accomplishments were hung in a row.

Before one of the bookshelves sat a wooden desk used primarily for studying and bare save for a computer and a flexible desk lamp. Ami's gaze lingered on the computer for a moment. She supposed she had time to check her e-mail before she retired for the night. Sliding off the bed, she padded over to the desk, jabbed the computer's power switch with a finger, and seated herself in the red swivel chair. It took a few moments for the system to boot up and the operating system to load, and a few moments more to connect to the internet. Waiting patiently for the dial-up process to finish, she swivelled around and glanced back at the window. The sun had almost completed its daily descent to the horizon and the first stars were shyly beginning to wink.

"_Anybody at all?_"

These three words were the first to greet her when she turned back to face the monitor. They were displayed within a white square – a window – that had popped up on the screen. Ami's eyes momentarily widened with surprise before she recognised the program. It was an instant messaging client used to communicate in real-time with people all over the world. Being more than slightly computer-savvy, Ami was a member of several online message forums and as such used the program to keep in contact with people who shared her interests. She scanned the window again, looking for a name to identify who the message was from, but there didn't appear to be one. That was unusual.

Leaning forward, her slender fingers began to tap away at the keyboard. The words "Hello, who is this?" appeared on the screen. Hitting the enter key, the words were sent instantly to her seemingly anonymous peer. They were preceded by the name 'Mercury', an alias that Ami used for online communication, among other things.

There was a pause before a reply appeared. It read, rather cryptically, "_I don't believe it._"

Frowning slightly, more intrigued than anything else, Ami sent the message "Excuse me?"

Another pause. "_I've been wanting to reach somebody for a long time,_" came the eventual reply. "_I was beginning to think I never would._"

This statement struck Ami as rather odd. The program was free to download and available to all, and contacting somebody was as simple as knowing their username. "May I ask your name?" she sent, politely reiterating her first question.

"_Forgive my rudeness,_" was the reply. "_My name is Shynkon. I do hope I'm not disturbing you?_"

Ami smiled. The absence of physical proximity meant that good manners weren't commonly used online, with an unfortunate majority of people taking advantage of their anonymity to employ quite the opposite. The same was true of grammar. Ami, however, felt that both, particularly manners, were important in all circumstances. It seemed this 'Shynkon' felt the same. "Not at all," she typed in reply. "I was just about to go to bed, but I could make a little time to talk." She added: "I'm Mercury, by the way," and sent the message.

"_Pleased to meet you,_" replied Shynkon. "_If that's the correct verb._"

Ami suppressed a giggle. Had he intended to be funny? "It's as good as any."

She waited as Shynkon formulated his next message. "_Mercury, is it? Is that in reference to the planet, the Roman messenger god or the chemical element also known as 'quicksilver'?_"

Ami raised her eyebrows, slightly impressed. Whoever he was – something in his manner told her he was a boy – he was certainly smart. She thought about the question for a moment. "I suppose it's the planet," she replied truthfully. It was her guardian deity, after all. She smiled a little as she continued, "It's also the name given to plants in the Mercurialis genus."

"_Impressive,_" echoed Shynkon. Ami blushed as she always did when paid a compliment, glad that he couldn't see her. "A good friend of mine knows a little about botany," she told him, again truthfully. She decided to steer the conversation in a different direction. "So what can I do for you, Shynkon-san?" She hoped he'd appreciate the honourific.

"_Just your company would be nice,_" he replied. "_I don't have anybody I can talk to here. I feel lonely sometimes._" Ami nodded sadly, recalling her own childhood. A great deal of it had been spent alone. Her mother worked long hours and her father simply hadn't been there, and her natural shyness had made it difficult to make friends at school. Adolescence had been even more arduous, with her quiet demeanour leading her fellow students to believe she was cold and unkind, and her growing academic success lending her an unwarranted air of apparent superiority. Now she had her wonderful friends, and with them she'd never be lonely again, but the memory of those long years and whispered rumours still stung her behind the eyes. "I understand," she told Shynkon. "I've been lonely before. I'd be happy to be your friend." She meant it. If he was suffering a similar experience to her own, then she knew the value a friend could have.

"_I'd like that a lot,_" he replied. "_It's difficult, not having anyone to talk to._"

"If you have a problem, I'd be glad to help, if I can," Ami told him.

Shynkon's next message took her slightly by surprise. "_Do you often go out of your way to help strangers?_" Was there something confrontational in those words or was he honestly curious? It was difficult to tell without the context a face-to-face conversation provided. She thought carefully before replying, "I believe very strongly in helping people. It's my dream to become a doctor to do just that."

"_That's wonderful._" Ami smiled. She'd just been imagining the undertone in his last message. "_I'd like to do the same. I wish I could. It's not possible, though._"

"Why not?" asked Ami. "Forgive the cliché, but anything is possible if you put your mind to it. I know that for a fact."

"_Not for me,_" replied Shynkon. "_I'm not allowed. I have to do my job, and because of that people get hurt._" A small pang of worry sparked to life within Ami's chest. What kind of job involved hurting people? She didn't want to know, but her fingers danced across the keyboard and the words "What do you mean?" appeared in the window regardless.

"_I'm sorry. I've said too much. It could be dangerous for both of us if I say any more._"

The spark became a flame. The logical part of her mind told her he was joking, just a child playing a prank, but another part, some indefinable but persuasive sense, told her that she was communicating with somebody who needed help. Ami didn't know if it stemmed from her choice of career path or from some other, less tangible place, but she knew she couldn't ignore it. She decided to press further. "You shouldn't be afraid to ask for help if you have a problem," she typed, hoping he wouldn't think she was being intrusive. "After all, that's what friends are for."

"_You're right,_" came the reply. Ami smiled with relief as she read this, but said smile was quickly wiped from her lips as her eyes absorbed the rest of the message. "_But I'm afraid my problem is too large to be solved by talking. It would only exacerbate the matter._"

"Are you sure?" typed Ami helplessly.

"_Quite sure,_" replied Shynkon. "_But thank-you for your concern. You're a very kind girl._"

Ami smiled again in spite of her persisting concern. "How did you know I'm a girl?"

"_Just a guess. Men aren't usually so polite._"

"Then what about you?" She realised, to her embarrassment, that she'd be disappointed if he were a woman. The flush returned to her cheeks and she found herself holding her breath for the few seconds it took him – her? – to reply.

The reply read, "_I'm the exception to the rule._"

Ami grinned, and then caught herself and suppressed it. Her eyes circled the outskirts of the window as she tried to think of something to say to that. Several icons were arranged around its perimeter, each tied to a different function of the program. Some of these were simple competitive games built into the software. One of these, depicting a pair of kings dressed in contrasting colours – one black, one white – caught her eye. "Would you care for a game of chess?" she asked.

There was a pause that was somewhat longer than usual, before Shynkon replied "_I'd be delighted to. Just don't expect much in the way of competition._"

Chess was Ami's favourite game and had been since she was a child. While the trophy on the bookshelf attested to her skill at the game, it had never been a competitive pastime for Ami. She considered it the perfect game of the intellect, cultivating a calm mentality and accurate judgement. It often helped to relax her, or to enable her to make connections and solve problems that she wouldn't under ordinary circumstances. Perhaps it would help Shynkon similarly?

"It isn't about the competition," she told him, and clicked on the icon. Another, smaller window popped up, displaying a graphic of a chequered board upon which the pieces were arranged in their starting positions. Ami was designated the white pieces, Shynkon the black, and the game began.

Despite his initial protestation, Ami found Shynkon to be a worthy opponent. He seemed to remain focused on the bigger picture, ignoring several easy, short-term victories in favour of building an overall strategy. As the game went on and pieces were exchanged, Ami found herself becoming engrossed. That almost an hour had passed and she hadn't yet checked her e-mail couldn't have been further from her mind. Her worries about Shynkon's suspicious occupation were filed away for later. Sleep was a distant and ethereal concept that existed beyond the immediate reality of logic, of strategy and sacrifices, of black and white.

The game went on.

"Zugzwang," Ami typed as she completed a move. She checked the board again to affirm it and nodded to herself. "_Zugzwang?_" asked Shynkon. Ami grinned sheepishly, thankful again for her invisibility. "It's the German word for 'compulsion to move'. It means that every possible move you can make weakens your position. In this case, every move leads to a victory for me. I'm afraid you're in a classic zugzwang scenario."

"_Fascinating,_" came his reply. From anybody else it might have seemed sarcastic, but Ami was sure he meant it. "_I can't believe I didn't see that. You're really very good._"

"I've had a lot of practice," replied Ami, going pink again. "Actually, I was Junior Chess Champion of Japan a few years ago." Did she sound egotistical, telling him that? She hoped not.

"_I'll let you have your victory, then, Champion,_" wrote Shynkon. She watched as he moved his sole remaining knight a single space across and two spaces down, cementing her victory in the process. "Checkmate." With the game complete, Ami closed the window and their conversation again filled the screen.

"_Congratulations,_" sent Shynkon. "_Although I think I did well, considering it's the first time I've played._"

Ami's jaw practically brushed the pale blue carpet.

"You don't mean that, surely?" she asked incredulously.

"_Of course I do. I just looked up the rules before we began. Besides, I lost, didn't I?_"

"Even so," persisted Ami, "you showed a great deal of talent."

"_It's a game of logic,_" countered Shynkon. "_I'm technically a mathematician, and the two are somewhat related._"

Was he lying? She had no way of being sure, but Ami didn't think so. And if that was the case…

"_I'm afraid I have to get back to work,_" continued Shynkon. Ami's initial disappointment over their conversation ending quickly turned back to worry. Working this late at night? She decided to voice her question. "Isn't it rather late to be at work?"

"_It's not like I have a choice._"

His ambiguity merely filled Ami with more concerns and questions, but before she could type a single one his next message appeared on the screen. "_Thank-you for keeping me company. It means a lot to me._"

"Can we speak again soon?" asked Ami, not caring if the statement sounded too forward.

"_I'd like that,"_ replied Shynkon. "_I should be able to find you again at the same time tomorrow._"

"I'll be here," Ami told him, relieved.

"_Thank-you again, and goodnight, Mercury-san._"

Before Ami could return the sentiment, the window changed colour from a bright white to a dull grey, denoting that the conversation was no longer active. As Ami closed the window and shut down the computer, forgetting her e-mail entirely, she couldn't help but worry. If she believed everything he had told her – and she knew that she did – then he was clearly being coerced into using his intellect for decidedly sinister means. But what were they? And how could she help?

_I have to do my job, and because of that people get hurt. It could be dangerous for both of us if I say any more._

These words continued to bother her as she lay her head on the pillow and pulled the covers up around her shoulders, and they were the last thing she was aware of before she finally drifted into a deep, silent sleep.

* * *

_The rainbow is a bold ribbon of colour against the deep azure of the sky and the tip of every blade of grass sparkles with moisture. The squeak of the wheels of her bicycle is pleasantly familiar. Above, the clouds are aeroplanes made of cotton, drifting carelessly through the serene, radiant blue. The fresh breeze on her face, her bare legs, everywhere, as if daring them to continue up the steep hill._

_They dare._

_At the top, a grassy plain stretches out before them, a little patch of the world reserved exclusively for the two of them. Laying down their bicycles in the wet grass, they take a deep breath in unison and she feels her lungs filling, swelling with sweet, crisp summer air._

"_Wonderful, isn't it?" she asks, turning to face him._

_He just smiles. The legs of his jeans are damp from the grass, but he doesn't seem to notice._

_His mouth opens and a single word tumbles nervously out._

"_Ami-chan."_


	3. Chapter 2

To the displeasure of absolutely nobody, the next day did nothing to end the unbroken string of perfect summer weather. Ami woke to find the sun smiling softly through her window and a sextet of white doves perched in a neat row upon the ledge outside, their sleek feathers ruffled by a cooling breeze that held the humidity at bay. In such halcyon conditions, the worries of the previous night seemed more distant, but they continued to trouble Ami as she took her morning bath, dressed in a powder blue sundress and left the apartment, and persisted still as she made her way up the steps leading to the Crown Fruit Parlor. 

Comprising the upper half of the two-storey Crown building, the Fruit Parlor was the favoured hangout of Ami and her friends. Tall windows lining the walls allowed the sunlight entry, letting it play upon the polished white floors and tables that made up the spacious interior and nourish the lush green plants that sat in vases and boxes throughout. The easygoing sounds of its patrons' carefree chatter welcomed Ami as she stepped inside and she found herself relaxing a little. A delighted voice called over to her, easily making itself heard above the background noise.

"Ami-chan!"

As usual, her friends were seated in a booth in the corner nearest the door, three girls and two cats sat on comfortable orange seating around a table cluttered with their magazines and half-eaten orders. Ordering a glass of apple juice and taking her place on one of the soft chairs, Ami immediately felt her spirits lift as she looked around at their beaming faces. The girl who had called her over spoke again, her words tumbling out in an excited rush.

"So I got a call from Moroboshi-san last night! He heard my demo and said I – and I quote – 'show a great deal of potential'! I've still got to do voice training and everything but I'm starting to think I might actually make it!"

Seated opposite Ami, Minako was a chatty blonde to whom the word "exuberant" might well have been invented for. A red bow sat atop a waterfall of blonde hair that framed her angelic face and made her sapphire eyes all the more dazzling. A potent cocktail of effortless beauty, confidence and determination, Minako had taken several steps along the path to becoming an idol, a lifelong dream that was quickly becoming a reality following her victory in a talent scouting contest some months previous.

"That's wonderful, Minako-chan!" congratulated Ami, matching the smile on her face.

"Don't forget to get us tickets to your first performance!" came Rei's voice. Striking with her long raven hair and dark, passionate eyes, Rei had an aura of strong spirituality and dignity that, together with her short temper, unnerved many who did not – or could not – take the time to get to know her fully.

"Front row, I hope!" said Makoto between sips of green tea. The tallest of the group, Makoto was a brunette whose physical strength and strong features often earned her the appellation of 'boyish'. Looking closer into her leaf-green eyes, however, one would discover a quiet, feminine beauty as fond of baking and botany as excelling in sports.

"Of course, of course!" replied Minako with a giggle, waving a hand as if to dismiss such an absurd notion. "But we shouldn't think about that stuff yet. I don't want to get ahead of myself. As the saying goes, 'talk about the things of tomorrow and the mice in heaven laugh!'"

"That's not what they say, Mina," came a voice from beside her. It belonged to Artemis, a tomcat with a white coat and eyes as blue as his owners'. Above them, a golden crescent moon shape adorned his forehead. "I think you'll find the mice are in the _ceiling_."

"I think _you'll _find _yourself_ in the ceiling if you don't stop correcting me," replied Minako good-naturedly, waving a balled fist at him. He winced and looked across at the sixth and final member of their party, a black cat named for the moon she had once inhabited. "Luna! Help me out here!" Her crimson eyes twinkled with mirth as she shook her own moon-gilded head. "Fight your own battles, Artemis."

The group collapsed into giggles, Ami among them, and for a while her concerns regarding Shynkon were pushed away. Just being in the presence of her friends always served to comfort her. She couldn't remember what she had done without them. Ordinarily their table would have seated another, but the final member of the group was currently taking a vacation: a late honeymoon with her husband.

"Oh, I got a call from Usagi-chan last night," Ami volunteered when the laughter had subsided. This was met by nods all around the table. "Me too," said Makoto. "And me," seconded Minako. "Same," agreed Rei. "The idiot. Babbled on about tennis and some gift she got from her future self."

Everybody grinned, knowing full well that Rei's hostility was an affectionate pretence. Minako sighed softly. "It sounded like she was having a great time, though. Lucky! Mamoru-san really is one in a million." Agreement all around. "Finding a nice boyfriend is tough," complained Makoto, thoughtfully stirring her tea with a silver spoon. "I wonder what my _senpai_ is doing now?" Sighs all around. Makoto's heart had been broken by her senior at her first middle school and she never seemed quite able to forget about him.

The conversation continued on the topic of boys, their myriad faults and how much they all wanted one, and Ami found her thoughts returning to Shynkon. Had he been telling the truth last night? In such normal surroundings, with her friends chatting and laughing and the sun shining through the windows, it all seemed so distant. That didn't help to lessen the worried voice at the back of her mind.

"…matter, Ami-chan?"

Ami looked up, slightly startled at the sound of her name. It was Rei who had spoken, a slight frown telling of her concern. Possessing as she did a powerful intuition – a kind of 'sixth sense' – Rei often picked up on the emotions of other people. Ami realised she'd been staring at the bottom of her half-drained glass without saying a word.

"No, I'm fine," Ami assured her friends. "It's just that…"

And, before she knew it, she had told them the entire story of what had transpired last night with Shynkon.

There was silence for a few seconds, before Minako broke it. "He sounds nice."

"Mina!" chided Artemis. "That's not quite the point."

"He's right, for once," agreed Luna. "It sounds like this Shynkon may be in trouble."

"You don't think I'm being silly?" asked Ami. The group shook their heads as one. "If there's one thing we've all learned by now," said Luna, "it's to trust our instincts. If you think he's telling the truth, then he most likely is."

Ami smiled appreciatively, grateful that her concerns had been validated. "Then what should I do? He doesn't seem to want to talk to me about the problem, whatever it may be."

"He said he'd talk to you again tonight?" asked Rei. Ami nodded and she continued, "Then you'll just have to try again, convince him that we can help."

Ami nodded again, resolved to do just that.

"So…" Minako made a show of examining her orange-painted fingernails. "D'you think he's single?"

"Minako-chan!" gasped Ami, almost choking on a mouthful of apple juice. She looked across at Minako's expression of complete and total innocence and struggled to stop herself from laughing. Trust Minako to say that! "It's an honest question!" the blonde insisted, her face the epitome of virtue. Immediately the mood around the table was lightened as they all took turns in questioning Minako's dubious priorities. "I don't really know anything about him," admitted Ami when they had calmed down. "Just that he has a dangerous occupation and that he's very intelligent."

"Do you know for sure he's a boy?" asked Makoto.

"He said as much," Ami told her. "Oh, and his Japanese was perfect, so he probably lives in this country."

"Okay, so," began Minako, slamming her cup of orange juice down on the table with the authority of a judge striking her gavel. "You need to find out his age and where he lives, and if he's single. Oh, and you need a picture too. I mean, he's _got _to be cute, right?"

"Would somebody order a gag for her?" quipped Rei from across the table, smiling fiendishly. "Here, here," agreed Artemis. An orange fingernail poked him in the ribs for the remark and Minako adopted a defensive position. "All I'm saying is, it's about time Ami-chan found a nice boyfriend, and I'd be glad to help her out. I _am_ the goddess of love, after all." Groans and giggles erupted around the table as she began to sing the first verse from her debut song. _"If you should lose sight of the goddess of love, you'll only get halfway, and that's no good…"_

"Y'know," piped up Makoto as the singing petered out. "I'm sure I remember Ami-chan saying she'd look for a boyfriend as soon as we made it into high school." Ami's cheeks burned a deep scarlet. "D-did I really say that?"

"You did," Makoto assured her. "I remember because we were all studying for the high school entrance exams-"  
"Except me," chimed Rei, whose place in a so-called "elevator" school had allowed her to bypass them entirely, to the envy of her less fortunate friends.

"-and it was around the same time that Snow Princess tried to freeze the Earth."

"I remember," said Minako, shuddering at the memory. "Those exams were _so _difficult!"

* * *

Twenty-four hours.

A mere one-thousand, four-hundred and forty minutes until the preparations were complete and the city of Tokyo was swept away in a hurricane he himself had helped create. Shynkon tried to convince himself that it wasn't too late to stop. Akeega needed him to complete the preparations. Without him, the G-Shack would be rendered powerless and the lives of all those people out there would be saved.

And his own would be terminated.

It _was_ too late. Shynkon knew that he would never have the courage to defy his captors. To sacrifice himself for a cause infinitely greater. To be the brave hero.

As they had many times that day, his thoughts turned to Mercury. He replayed their conversation from the previous evening word-for-word from memory. Such an intelligent, kind person. His encounter with her had been the only light in a time otherwise filled with darkness, a time that had begun when the Sankyzo had abducted him and one that seemed to have no end. His sole hope was that he could communicate with her one more time before the cycle was completed and he was forced to move on.

Eight-hundred and sixty-four thousand seconds.

How many games of chess could be played in that time?

* * *

The afternoon spent with her friends had brightened Ami's mood considerably, and their conversation at Crown had made her more determined than ever to get to the root of Shynkon's problem, but still the worries persisted. What if he _had_ been playing with her after all? What if he didn't – or couldn't – speak to her again? As such, it was with considerable relief that Ami logged on to the internet that evening and was immediately greeted with an instant message from him.

_"Good evening, Mercury-san," _it read.

"And good evening to you, Shynkon-san," she typed in reply. She decided to be honest with him. "I've been thinking about you all day."

_"And I you."_

She felt the blush creeping across her cheeks and silently chastised herself. This was important. "I was a little worried you wouldn't be here," she told him. _"I wouldn't be anywhere else,"_ he replied. _"Although I'm afraid this will be the last time."_

The disappointment stung like a hornet. Ami did her best to ignore it. "Why is that?"

_"My work."_ Of course. What else would it be? _"It requires that I move around a lot."_

"Where will you be going?" The internet allowed people from all over the world to communicate. It didn't matter if he was moving to another city, even another country, they could still stay in touch. Couldn't they? Shynkon seemed to read her thoughts. _"A great distance away. Too far for us to communicate."_

The screen remained blank for what seemed to Ami like a long time.

"I wondered if I could ask you a few questions?" she finally ventured.

_"What kind of questions?"_

"About you. Your age, your location, your hobbies. That kind of thing." She remembered Minako telling her to ask if he was single and pushed the thought away. Earning his trust and helping him with his problem was the important thing. No reply was forthcoming, so she decided to set an example. "I'll go first. I'm sixteen, I like swimming and reading and my favourite colour is blue."

It was a long moment before he replied.

_"I'm eighteen, I enjoy recreational mathematics and my favourite colour is yellow."_

Ami smiled, telling herself that her pleasure came from his willingness to share with her and nothing else.

_"And I'm currently located in Tokyo, Japan,"_ he added.

"Really?" Ami couldn't restrain the smile this time. "Me too."

Not her.

Please, not her too.

The guilt that weighed upon Shynkon's proverbial shoulders was almost impossible to endure when he compared the worth of millions of faceless, anonymous people against his own and those of his kin, but to know that kind, compassionate Mercury would be among the dead the following evening was too much to bear. What had she done to deserve such a fate? Mercury, who had spent her precious time with him in his darkest hour? Mercury, who dreamed of using her knowledge to help others?

Nothing. She had done nothing to deserve it. None of the people of Tokyo had.

The outcome of the conflict that had been raging within him since the very beginning was suddenly decided.

The cycle would end.

It would end tonight.

"Shynkon? Are you there?"

It had been minutes since Ami had sent her last message and still Shynkon had not replied. Surely he hadn't left already? It was another minute before a reply finally came, and Ami had to read it through twice before she believed her eyes.

_"Mercury-san, I need your help. You may not believe this, but I am being forced to prepare a device that will destroy this city tomorrow evening. My captors have threatened to terminate me if I disobey them, but I would rather that than be responsible for your death."_

Her mind reeling from the sheer magnitude of his confession, Ami slowly and carefully typed her response. "I will help you," it read. "Tell me exactly where you are and I will come immediately."

_"No."_ Before Ami could respond to his simple refusal, he elaborated. _"You must inform your authorities. It might sound strange, but you must believe me when I tell you my captors are not of your world. They are savage and would kill you without a moment's hesitation."_

"I don't think you are lying," Ami replied honestly. Over the past two years she had encountered all manner of things that other people would not believe. "And trust me when I tell you that my friends and I can help you. Please, tell me where you are."

"_I beg you not to come yourself,_" returned Shynkon. _"But I will tell you the location. It is a scientific research building in the centre of the city."_

"What is its name?" asked Ami. Her eyes were unblinking and her breath caught in her throat as she waited for his response.

And waited.

Until finally, the window changed colour from white to grey. The conversation was no longer active.

Shynkon was gone.

"Thought you were pretty clever, didn't you?"

Shynkon said nothing.

"Thought you could call for help?"

The voice was mocking and cruel, just like its owner. "Thing is," continued Akeega, "I've known about your abuse of the wide area network since the beginning." His laugh was the screech of rusted metal. "It'd take more than a simple firewall to keep me out. I've allowed it to continue for my own amusement, but I'm afraid I can't let you reveal our location."

He laughed again and agony tore through Shynkon, spreading throughout his entire being like a virus until it threatened to consume him entirely, to erase everything he was and ever had been. His only thought was distant and immutable. _I'm going to be terminated. _Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the pain stopped. Akeega's voice was right beside him, sharp and deadly as a blade. "You will finish preparing the G-Shack _tonight_. Ahead of schedule. You will do this, or you will suffer the consequences, of which termination will be the most desirable."

And, almost as an afterthought, "Oh, and if your little girlfriend does come to find you…"

_Not her. Please._

"She will die at my convenience."

And then, once again, Shynkon was alone.


	4. Chapter 3

"I'm sorry about the late hour, everyone."

Seated in a rough semicircle, the five of them smiled, shook their heads and used their hands – or paws – to ward off any such concerns. "Don't be silly, Ami-chan," Minako assured her, before raising a hand to her mouth to stifle a yawn. Grinning apologetically, she continued. "Besides, it's not like we're not used to it."

That much was true. In the two years since they had awoken as Sailor Soldiers – guardians of love and justice whose mission was to defend the Earth from evil – they had seen no small number of days, evenings and weekends dominated by monsters and villains. Ami, like the rest of them, had learned to accept that it was a part of her life that would never change. Nor would she want it to. Few had the chance to exercise such power to help and do good, and she could not deny that her role as a soldier had served to make her a stronger, more confident person. On top of that, it had united – or was it reunited? – her with friends that she could only have dreamt of during her childhood.

"Would you like some tea?" asked Makoto thoughtfully. Owing to the time, they had decided to meet at her apartment. As the only member of the group who lived alone, it saved them the trouble of explaining their presence to bemused parents. Under normal circumstances, it would have been a pleasure to spend time there. An accomplished cook, Makoto always seemed to have a treat or two waiting in the kitchen for them. Sharing a plate of freshly baked cookies, their warm aroma mingling with the scents of the plants arranged generously around the spotless surroundings was nothing short of heavenly. Ami had spent many a lazy hour in such a way, and looked forward to many, many more.

Tonight, however, every moment was precious.

"No, thank-you," she replied.

"Now, you said this was about Shynkon?" asked Artemis from atop a nearby chair.

Nodding, Ami quickly relayed Shynkon's confession and subsequent plea for help to them. They listened in attentive silence, faces taut with perturbation, until she had finished.

"'A scientific research building in the centre of the city'..." mused Luna.

"Do you know where that might be?" asked Rei, directing her question at Ami, who shook her head sadly. While she had a keen interest in science, she couldn't think of a particular facility in a place as large as central Tokyo.

"I'm sure I have a guidebook from when I first moved here," realised Makoto. "It had maps of all the wards in Tokyo. I'll see if I can find it." Ami smiled gratefully as she did just that, and within moments the little book had been located. More than ever, Ami was thankful for Makoto's pride in neatness. The same book in Minako's room would be the needle in a haystack otherwise stuffed full of teen magazines and abandoned articles of clothing.

"Thank-you, Mako-chan," she said as the book was placed in her hands. The others crowded around her, the cats each occupying an arm of her chair and the girls standing at her shoulders. Opening the book, Ami scanned the index and wondered where to begin their search.

"I'd say Chiyoda-ku is the most likely," she proposed. "It is the very centre of the city, and it does house the NACSIS."

The National Centre for Science Information Systems was a research institute created to advance the study of informatics – the science of information – and to spread that information to the general public. Ami had used their databases a good many times to aid in her studies.

"Do you think he might be there?" asked Makoto. Ami considered the idea before shaking her head. "I don't think so. From what he told me, it seems Shynkon is being coerced into doing a dangerous job by dangerous people. I can't imagine anything like that happening at the NACSIS, but there might be other, smaller research facilities nearby."

Beside her, Minako's eyebrows lowered into a contemplative frown before leaping back up like a pair of blonde dolphins. "Artemis!" she cried, startling him by placing a hand firmly on his spine. "Yes, Mina?" he asked, his rapidly flicking tail belying his unruffled voice. Minako appeared not to notice. "Do you remember a couple of weeks ago, when you were reading the newspaper? There was a page about Chiyoda and I kept annoying you because I wanted to read the bit about Akihabara?"

"I remember," he replied after a pause.

"Didn't you say something about a science lab back then?"

He thought about it. The movement of his tail slowed. Then it suddenly stood bolt upright and he sprang to all fours. "That's right!" he exclaimed excitedly. "A research building in Ōtemachi that had been closed down due to a lack of funding! The paper didn't go into any more detail, but it did have the name. DenTech."

"DenTech?" Rei said the name aloud. "Perhaps something to do with electricity?"

"Whatever the case," said Luna, "It's a good candidate. Ami-chan, can you use your computer to scan that area? If Shynkon's captors are indeed alien life forms, then you should be able to pick something up."

Ami nodded and reached into her pocket, retrieving the handheld supercomputer that she had received when she had awoken as a Sailor Soldier. Among other things, it was capable of scanning areas for anomalies of a supernatural or otherwise unusual nature. Ami flipped it open and quickly tapped a series of commands into the keypad.

They waited as the small device began a thorough scan of the district.

Fingers and feet tapped impatiently.

"Got something," announced Ami as a result flashed up on the screen. "An unidentifiable signal coming from a building in Ōtemachi. Let me check the registry." More commands, and finally a triumphant smile lightened her dour expression. "The building is registered to a DenTech, Inc.."

Rei was already heading for the door. "Well, what are we waiting for? We can be there in no time if we take the subway." She stopped, turned and smiled reassuringly at Ami. "Come on," she said. "Let's go rescue your boyfriend."

* * *

After the cats had wished them good luck and warned them to be careful, as they always did, the girls quickly headed out. At first their conversation had been light and cheerful and mostly aimed at Ami, a kind attempt to keep her from worrying too much about Shynkon. As the journey neared its end, however, they lapsed into a restless silence. They were not afraid, their experience in hundreds of battles giving them a strong confidence in themselves and each other, but the threat of impending danger was something they never could – nor would – ignore.

_I wish Usagi-chan were here, _thought Ami. _She'd keep our spirits up. _That was what made Usagi so special: her effortless ability to make the impossible seem feasible and to give them hope when they had none. It wasn't the same without her.

"Least we haven't got Usagi with us," came Rei's voice from the seat opposite her. "We might actually get something accomplished."

Ami looked over at her and knew she was thinking the same thing.

* * *

The DenTech building was a tall rectangle of concrete and glass, unremarkable among a district known for large corporate buildings. Following its closure as reported by Artemis, the entrance had been sealed off and bore a notice proclaiming that entry was prohibited and punishable by law. Completing a circuit of the building and finding no alternate means of entry, the foursome sat on a nearby wall and considered their options.

"I say we just smash the doors down," suggested Makoto, slapping a clenched fist into an open palm. Ami disagreed. "This area is pretty busy, even at night. Somebody would report us, the police would get involved. There has to be another way."

"Is the police getting involved such a bad thing?" wondered Minako. "If we explained the situation to them they might help us take down the bad guys, rescue Shynkon. They're used to hostage situations, right?"

"Bad idea," judged Rei. "You know they wouldn't believe a word we said. Besides, how would you explain property damage to your parents?"

"There must be a way to get in without using the front doors," reasoned Ami.

They all fell silent, considering.

"What about the Sailor Teleport?" asked Minako, referring to their combined ability to transport themselves magically from one place to another. Ami frowned thoughtfully. "In theory that would be perfect, but there are only four of us. I'm not sure it would work without Usagi-chan."

"I dunno," said Makoto, fiddling distractedly with her ponytail. "It's not like we're going to Antarctica or outer space. We only need to get beyond those doors."

"It's worth a shot," decided Rei, and everybody agreed.

The plan decided, the girls retreated around to the side of the building where they were hidden from the street. With luck they wouldn't be spotted by anybody, although any would-be passer-by would probably not believe what they were about to be witness to.

"Okay, everyone," Ami announced. "Transform!"

As one, they reached into their pockets and pulled out their Crystal Change Rods. Resembling elaborate magic wands, these talismans were tipped with large round crystals and golden stars. Each crystal was a different colour, and within them glowed the symbols of the guardian planets from which they drew their power. Minako's crystal was orange and displayed the hand mirror of the goddess of love, Venus. Makoto's was green and showed a thunderbolt, representing Jupiter. Rei's red crystal burned with the spear and shield of the god of war, Mars, and Ami's blue crystal shone with the winged cap of Mercury.

"Mercury Crystal Power!" called Ami, raising the rod high above her head.  
"Mars Crystal Power!" shouted Rei.  
"Jupiter Crystal Power!" boomed Makoto.  
"Venus Crystal Power!" yelled Minako.  
"Make-Up!" they cried as one.

And then, the unbelievable happened.

Bright, colourful waves of energy flowed from their crystals and suffused their bodies from their heads to their toes. Together they shone with a heavenly light that melted away their clothes as if they were ripples on the surface of a pond. The light began to take shape, forming new clothes, and with a flash the garments became real. Tight white shirts were decorated with heart-shaped bows and sailor collars; white panties were covered – barely – by pleated miniskirts from which long, extravagant ribbons fluttered. Their hands were covered by white gloves that extended to their elbows, their feet by heeled boots or shoes. On their heads, earrings glinted and golden tiaras set with coloured gems sparkled like newborn stars.

Ami had transformed countless times before, but the experience was never anything less than wondrous. Closing her eyes, she felt her body fill with radiant, protective power until she felt she could burst with joy.

When she opened her eyes, she was no longer Ami.

She was Sailormercury.

Smiling with renewed confidence, Mercury stepped towards the others, heeled boots clicking on the paved ground. The evening breeze toyed with the hem of her short, royal blue skirt and cooled her bare legs. "Everybody ready?" she asked.

"I'm ready," replied Mars in the red uniform, dark eyes focused and calm.

"Me too," agreed Jupiter, stretching preparatively in her green uniform.

"And me!" sang Venus, sweeping back her lustrous golden hair and smoothing her orange skirt.

Without another word, the quartet formed a circle and joined hands. Bowing their heads and closing their eyes, they concentrated on the power within them. Power that could transport them into the building. The power to rescue Shynkon. Mercury could feel it all around her, growing in intensity, joining her with her friends and fellow soldiers.

"Sailor Teleport!" they called in unison.

And with a flash of light, they were gone.

* * *

"Not a bad plan, eh?" said Jupiter with a smile as they examined their new surroundings: the entryway of the DenTech building, just beyond the sealed doors. "Take a bow, Venus." Venus did just that. "Ta-da!"

"Keep the noise down," warned Mars. "They might be expecting us."

Venus clamped a gloved hand over her mouth. "You think?" she asked, the words trickling through her fingers. Mercury nodded. "It's possible. They might have discovered Shynkon's communication with me." That was the most likely explanation for his sudden disappearance. If so, she deeply hoped his captors hadn't punished him, or worse. She pushed the thought aside and focused on the immediate problem. "We might be walking into a trap."

An unlit corridor stretched away from them, vanishing into darkness before its end. "We'll just have to be on our guard," said Jupiter. Mercury stepped forward. "I'll take the lead," she volunteered. "If they do have something lying in wait for us, I should be able to see it coming." She touched a fingertip to the first of three tiny blue studs that lined her earlobe. As she did so, a pair of transparent goggles appeared from nowhere to cover her eyes. Scanning the corridor with them, she could now see a web of crisscrossing red lines: infrared beams invisible to the naked eye.

"Laser beams," she informed the others. "Lots of them."

"Can you disable them?" asked Venus hopefully.

Pulling out her miniature supercomputer, Mercury correlated the data from her goggles to its interface and attempted to do so. The technology in her computer was light years ahead of anything the human race had ever created and should have theoretically been able to break through their defenses.

It couldn't. More proof they were dealing with a threat that wasn't human.

"No luck," she reported. "We're going to have to go through them." Putting away the computer, she placed her hands together and directed her power into them. "Shabon!" she commanded. A soap bubble appeared between her palms and rapidly swelled in size. She threw her arms outwards and the bubble burst. "Spray!" A fine white mist quickly filled the corridor, as did the pleasant aroma of soap. Amidst the mist, the thin red beams could now clearly be seen by all.

"Boy," said Mars, looking wistfully at their complex, overlapping patterns. "It really _is_ a good job Usagi isn't here."

Mercury led their slow advancement down the corridor, her visor still equipped in case of any further surprises. Mars and Venus followed, with Jupiter at the rear. As the tallest, she was finding it particularly difficult to step over or crawl under the beams without accidentally touching one. "What actually happens if we trip one of these?" she wondered aloud as she gingerly lifted a booted foot clear of danger.

"If we're lucky, the alarm will be raised," replied Mercury, sidling carefully between two vertical beams. "And if we're not lucky?" Venus had to know. Mercury didn't know for certain, but the alternatives were not good. She said nothing, and nobody repeated the question.

They continued on, stepping over and rolling under beams until finally the end was in sight. Beyond the last few obstacles the outline of a staircase could be seen, leading up to the next floor and, Mercury hoped, to Shynkon.

"Aino's heading for the finish line," Venus was saying, narrating her own journey through the lasers. "She's keeping neck and neck with rival Kino, the betting man's favourite," – a wink across at Jupiter – "but can she pull ahead at this critical time? Her fans think so!"

"This isn't a race!" protested Jupiter, but she couldn't help smiling.

Mercury looked back at them arguing playfully and smiled too.

And then gasped.

It was then that Jupiter found out the answer to her question.

It hadn't occurred to Mercury that the lasers might not be in fixed positions: that they might change their patterns from time to time to further thwart any attempt at intrusion. Unfortunately, that was exactly what they did. As a beam high above sank towards Venus like a weighty stone, Mercury opened her mouth to warn her, but it came too late.

The beam passed right through her. Venus looked down at it emerging from her chest like a futuristic kebab skewer and sighed.

"Aw, _man_."

They waited for the inevitable piercing sound of the alarm, but it didn't come. Instead they heard a harsh groan, like the sound of metal gears coming to life. Unfortunately, that was exactly what it was. As they watched helplessly, thick steel shutters began to descend from the ceiling, arranged at intervals along the corridor and clearly designed to lock out – and imprison – anybody who tripped the lasers.

"RUN!" yelled Jupiter, before shooting off down the corridor like a speeding bullet. Jerked free of their temporary apathy, the others chased after her. They had come too far to return to the entrance, even if they had wanted to. The only option now was to beat the shutters to the stairwell, assuming that was where they ended.

Mercury was a good runner, with healthy lungs and muscles honed from years of regular swimming, but keeping up with Jupiter was impossible. In no time at all the big girl had pulled ahead of them, her long, powerful legs propelling her towards Venus' imaginary finish line. The shutters continued to descend, now threatening to separate them. Running side-by-side, Mercury, Mars and Venus pushed themselves further. Together they ducked beneath the penultimate shutter and sprinted towards the final one.

But it was too late. As they reached it, it had already lowered to their knees. If they tried to crawl beneath it, they would be crushed.

Then, it stopped. Gloved fingertips curled around its edge. The gears complained noisily, their progress impeded. "I suggest you hurry up," came Jupiter's strained voice through the heavy steel. "I can't hold this thing all day."

Without a thought for the dangers, the trio dropped to their bellies and crawled through the tiny gap. The metal floor was cold through the thin cotton fabric of their uniforms. Just as they pulled their feet clear, Jupiter released her grip on the door and it slammed to the ground with a metallic clang that bounced back and forth between the walls.

"Thank-you, Jupiter-chan," said Mercury, standing and patting her friend on the back. The others did the same. Jupiter nodded wordlessly, taking deep breaths and rotating her aching shoulders. Mercury didn't want to consider how much the shutter had weighed.

After a moment to collect themselves, the four turned to make their next move. In addition to the staircase, there was an elevator the darkness had rendered invisible from afar. Venus headed for the neighbouring panel with its alluring round buttons. "Finally, a break," she exhaled. "I don't want to walk anywhere ever again."

"Not so fast, Elsa," said Jupiter, grabbing one of the long orange ribbons that trailed from her skirt and tugging on it. Venus turned to her, a pitiful whining sound building in her throat. "She's right," Mercury told her apologetically before the noise could come to fruition. "If they weren't expecting us before, they will be now. If we take the elevator, we risk getting trapped."

"Fine," huffed Venus. "But I'm not happy!"

"Somebody's coming," said Mars suddenly, silencing them all. In the quiet, they could hear something descending. Not the rasping screech of another unseen blockade, but a low, insistent hum that grew louder by the second. _The elevator! _Venus whirled around, any petulance immediately forgotten. "I'll take the stairs with Mercury," she said quickly, addressing Mars and Jupiter. They each nodded once. "We'll buy you as much time as we can," Mars promised. Jupiter smiled at Mercury. "Go and find Shynkon," she said. "We'll be waiting for you."

Mercury smiled around at them. "Thank-you, everyone." Then she was charging towards the staircase, Venus by her side. Mars' voice lapped at her heels: "You owe us a parfait when we get back to Crown!" And then they were gone, just as a loud _ping_ accompanied the opening of the elevator doors.

"Oh," said Mars.

"Huh," said Jupiter.


	5. Chapter 4

It was hard not to be a little surprised by the being that stepped out of the elevator. 

Tall, lean and undoubtedly male, he wore a scowl on a face topped by hair that might have been twisted coils of wire and what appeared to be a skin-tight rubber suit on his well-muscled frame. Unusual, definitely, but nothing particularly shocking.

It was the four arms that made Mars and Jupiter gasp, just a little.

Their torpor quickly passed. They had encountered too many strange monsters in their time as soldiers to be stupefied by a mere surplus of limbs. Adopting defensive stances, the pair faced the arrival and Mars asked the obvious question.

"Who are you?"

The figure looked slowly from Mars to Jupiter and back again before responding in a voice like crackling electricity: "Which of you is Mercury?"

The pair exchanged a glance. Without a doubt, he was one of the villains planning to destroy Tokyo. Mars could feel waves of violence and greed emanating from him, washing over her and chilling her to the bone. She had felt it too many times before: the unmistakable aura of evil. He must have learned Mercury's name through Shynkon's communication with her and now had come to stop her rescue attempt.

They couldn't allow that to happen.

"She isn't here," replied Mars, "but we speak on her behalf."

"And you two are?" crackled the creature.

"Sailor-suited pretty soldier of love and passion, Sailormars."

"Soldier of love and courage, Sailorjupiter."

The creature nodded, loops of wire hair twisting like snakes. "I'm Gauge," he said by way of introduction, "technician of the Sankyzo. You said you were allies of Mercury?"

The Sailor Soldiers' expressions remained unmoved as Gauge's four hands began to contort and change shape, their jaws set and eyes hard, preparing for the battle they knew was to follow. They watched as the hands were replaced by an array of tools a technician might well employ: a hammer; a saw; a drill; a screwdriver. Implements that could also be used to maim and kill when placed in the wrong hands.

Flexing these new appendages, Gauge's face broke into a malevolent grin.

"Then I'll find her after I kill you."

* * *

Floor after floor after floor.

Mercury and Venus had searched every floor they had encountered during their ascent through the DenTech building, but each one had been dark and deserted, with no sign of activity since the company's closure. There was only a single floor left to search now: the top floor.

"This must be it," reasoned Mercury as they paused for breath at the top of the wide staircase. "The alien signal is definitely coming from somewhere in this building and the top floor is logically the easiest place to defend."

"Guess we can expect more traps, then," said Venus, giving her a half-smile.

"Most likely."

Taking the lead, Venus pulled open the door. They were immediately rewarded as the bright light within spilled across the dark stairwell. Somebody was home. Cautiously, they stepped through the doorway. Before them was a laboratory occupied by computers arranged in neat rows across the length of the room. In the corners stood taller machines that Mercury identified as more powerful supercomputers, ostensibly used in whatever research DenTech had been carrying out. On one wall stood a set of elevator doors.

"Could it be?"

The pair span around at the sound of the voice, ready for anything. Its owner stood on the other side of the room. With his handsome features and wavy, sun-yellow hair, he could have been one of the teen idols whose posters adorned the walls of Venus' bedroom. A black rubber suit stretched over his trim frame, his posture casual, as if he'd been expecting them to arrive at any moment. He smiled disarmingly at them.

"Could you be Mercury?" His voice was smooth and collected, his tone polite.

"Who wants to know?" asked Venus, taking a step towards him, placing herself between the cute boy and her friend.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said. "How rude of me. I'm Shynkon."

* * *

Despite outnumbering their opponent two to one, Mars and Jupiter were finding Gauge to be more than a handful. Four times more, in fact. With his quartet of limbs undulating like live, severed cables, it was difficult even to get close to him.

The unspoken plan seemed simple enough: one of them was to dominate his attention while the other launched an attack at his unguarded rear. Taking the former role, Mars ducked and dodged as all four arms lashed at her. Jupiter stood behind them, forgotten for the moment, waiting for her opportunity to strike.

Mars almost flinched as the sharp point of the screwdriver arm whipped by her face. Another strike followed, and another, each missing by mere inches as she calmly anticipated his movements and positioned her own body accordingly. Gauge's black eyes were clouding with anger, his movements becoming more frantic as his frustration grew. This was exactly what they had intended. "Stay still!" he hissed, his last remnant of patience eroded.

His knees bent slightly.

Mars was ready as he dived at her, all four arms raised to deliver a fatal blow. She threw herself to one side, landing on her shoulder and rolling back to her high heels in one fluent motion. Gauge's landing was not quite so graceful. He impacted the metal floor with such force that shockwaves rattled the girls' ankles. Two of his weapons, the drill and the screwdriver, sank through the steel and became embedded in the ground. As he struggled to tear them free, Jupiter saw her chance.

A wordless cry of exertion escaped her throat as she placed her hands together and willed her power into their palms. A ball of electricity appeared between them, fizzing and sparking violently. "Sparkling Wide Pressure!" she called as she threw back an arm and hurled the ball at the still-engaged Gauge with all of her considerable might, a bowler with a surplus of strength and enthusiasm. The thunderous orb tore through the air and crashed into Gauge before he even knew it was coming.

And dispersed harmlessly.

"What the-" is all Jupiter could say as Gauge finally pulled his tools free and turned to face them, the unhinged grin on his face wider than ever. He patted his narrow chest with the head of his hammer. "What can I say?" he cackled. "I'm a grounded individual."

"Rubber skin," Jupiter realised. "Damn it."

"It's my job to install the G-Shack," he informed her. "You wouldn't believe the electricity flowing through that thing. Makes your little party trick there look like a lightning bug."

"The G-Shack?" asked Mars. Gauge nodded. His expression became a rough approximation of modesty as he told them, "I just do the physical installation, mind. The programming is handled by our little friend up on the top floor."

"You mean-"

"Yeah, him. Shynkon."

* * *

"Shynkon-san?"

Could it really be him? Looking at him, with his effortless good looks and charming smile, Mercury wanted to believe so. She stepped forward to stand level with Venus. "Mercury-chan," said the blonde, leaning closer to her and speaking in a loud whisper, "he's gorgeous! Go introduce yourself!"

Mercury took a nervous swallow and walked towards him. Almond-shaped brown eyes locked onto her, looking her up and down with an expression that might have been lascivious on the wrong face. She took it as appreciative and, she conceded, felt the same way herself. His smile widened as she extended her hand to him and stammered, "I-I'm Mercury."

"Mercury," he said softly, taking her hand in his. "You're really Mercury?"

She nodded. "Sailor-suited pretty soldier of love and intelligence, Sailormercury." She smiled sheepishly. "A-actually."

"I'm the soldier of love and beauty, Sailorvenus!" piped up Venus from behind them, giving him a wink and a wave. He regarded her in silence for a moment before returning his full attention to Mercury. "I hoped you'd come. I've been so afraid." He squeezed her gloved hand softly and, to her slight shame, she found herself wishing she could feel his skin against hers. "Akeega told me to finish preparing the G-Shack tonight," he told her, "ahead of schedule. But now that you're here, we can escape!"

"Akeega? The G-Shack?"

He nodded quickly. "I'll explain later. There are more important things to do right now." His eyes left hers and drifted downwards, lingering on her lips. She licked them nervously. "T-there are?" Her pulse quickened as he placed his hands firmly on her shoulders. "There are," he said in a moist voice. "Much more important." Her heart threatened to punch a hole in her chest as his face drew nearer to her own.

He was going to kiss her.

Her first kiss.

She had often wondered what it would be like and who she would share it with. It had been the climax of many a comfortable dream and the subject of poems so secret even her friends would never lay eyes upon them. The details had always been a heat haze, unclear for all their warmth, but there was one thing she was sure of: when the time was right, she would know it. She would want it more than anything. It would just _feel_ right.

That time wasn't now.

He frowned slightly as she turned her face away from his. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "It's too soon." Behind her, she heard a rush of expelled air as Venus allowed herself to breathe again. Mercury shrugged her shoulders, expecting him to release his grip on them.

She gasped with pain and surprise as his strong fingers dug into her shoulder blades.

"Too soon?" he asked, his mouth still only inches from hers. His voice had hardened along with his grip, its former warmth now cold and sharp. She looked back into his eyes and was frightened by what she saw there: a spiteful rage and what she wanted to believe wasn't raw, animalistic lust. "Akeega could find us and kill us at any moment, and you say it's too soon?"

"Please, stop," Mercury asked. Tears stung her eyes and she fought to hold them back. She could cry later, when the mission was over and she was alone in her room. "You're hurting me."

"What the heck are you _doing_?!" That was Venus' voice, and a moment later the pressure on Mercury's shoulders was lifted as her friends' gloved hands pulled her free of his grasp. Venus took her place, standing almost nose-to-nose with him, soft blue eyes hardened with anger. "You can't treat her like that!"

"Perhaps you'd like to be treated like that instead?" He grinned, exposing both rows of perfect white teeth. "Blue or blonde, it's all the same to me." He didn't react as Venus slapped him across the face, leaving five red streaks across his cheek. "That's the most you'll get from me," she told him vehemently, shaking the ache from her throbbing hand. "I can't believe I missed vocal practice to come rescue you! You're nothing like we thought you'd be."

It was true, Mercury thought sadly. He didn't have a thing in common with the intelligent, sensitive Shynkon she had spoken to earlier that very evening.

Not a thing...

"Shynkon-san?" she asked, aiming her question at him like the crosshair of a rifle. "What does zugzwang mean?"

He thought for a moment, frowning, and then shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me," he replied dismissively. "I only bothered to learn Japanese."

* * *

At the opposite end of the building, Jupiter and Mars battled on.

"I've had about enough of this!" seethed Jupiter as she dodged yet another flailing limb. Ordinarily as sweet-natured and peaceful as they came, she had a harsh temper when provoked, and provocation was precisely what Gauge was giving her. As he launched a fresh volley of attacks in her direction, she stepped neatly to one side, deftly dodging three of the four arms. The final arm, its drill appendage whirring threateningly, she caught in one strong hand. Curling her other hand into a fist, she drove it forward and connected squarely with her foe's jaw.

She hoped her hand wasn't broken, but it sure felt like it was.

Mars watched with astonishment as Jupiter stumbled backwards, nursing her bruised fist with her other hand and swearing under her breath. "He's made of metal," she informed Mars between clenched teeth. "Looks like I found out the hard way."

"Sorry 'bout that," said Gauge. "I must have forgotten to mention it."

"We're all full of surprises," replied Mars, deciding to give him one of her own. Summoning the fiery power of her guardian planet, she traced a circle of flame in the air with the tip of her index finger and concentrated her thoughts on the nine seals of the kuji no in. "Burning Mandala!" she cried, and placing her hands in front of her, sent sizzling rings of fire tearing towards him. He threw himself to the ground to avoid them, but the effort came too late. Several of the scorching rings missed... but two tore through his upper pair of arms, severing them both at the elbow. They dropped uselessly to the floor with a muffled _clang_. His two stumps spitting sparks like stubborn fireworks, Gauge screeched like a dial-up modem. His two remaining arms – the hammer and the drill – thrashed violently.

"You'll pay to have them reattached!" he roared, and with alarming speed he lunged at her. Mars circled around him, waiting for the chance to use her attack again and render him completely powerless. They had him on the defensive now!

Back-pedalling briskly, her eyes widened with surprise as her foot connected with something, and before she could regain her balance she was crashing to the hard floor, her tailbone absorbing the full force of the impact and sending a jagged jolt of pain shooting up her spine. The first thing she saw when she looked up were Gauge's severed arms sitting motionlessly beside one of her red high heels. In her rush to distance herself from her angry opponent, she had completely forgotten about them.

The second thing she saw was Gauge himself, towering over her, his two surviving limbs poised to strike. "Let's see how you like it," he rasped. "You can tell me how it feels."

"Mars!"

The sound of Jupiter's boots pounding closer.

A moment later, it was drowned out by the hungry whine of the drill.

* * *

Anger and relief wrestled for dominance within Sailormercury's mind.

She settled with anger. For now.

"You're not Shynkon-san," she announced to the handsome imposter. "You're one of his captors!" She was proven right as the stranger clapped his hands together slowly, a round of applause laden with sarcasm. "Well done, genius girl," he said in a voice every bit as condescending. "You saw through my disguise. No, I'm not your darling Shynkon-_san_." He spat out the honorific as if the very taste of it offended him.

"Then who are you?" ventured Venus.

He rolled his eyes. "Isn't it obvious? I'm the leader of the Sankyzo. Name's Akeega."

"Then you're the one behind all this!" said Mercury accusingly. "You're the one planning to destroy Tokyo, and you're the one forcing Shynkon-san to help you!"

"That's correct," replied Akeega proudly. "In fact, you've arrived just in time. If dearest Shynkon-_san_ knows what's good for him, he'll be finishing the preparations for the G-Shack any minute now. You can stand and watch as your precious Tokyo becomes another of my profits."

Profits? Mercury wasn't sure she wanted to know what he meant by that, but she would find out regardless. It would be her second question, right after...

"Shynkon-san... where is he?"

She had expected refusal. She had expected another malicious lie. She hadn't expected Akeega to throw back his head and laugh. "Why don't you ask him yourself?" he giggled. "He's been right here in the room this whole time!"

Mercury knew better than to look away from him. "I don't believe you," she said. "If he were here, we would have seen him. We would have heard him."

"Oh, but you _can_ see him!" laughed Akeega. "He's right there in the corner! True, you can't hear him, but only because I silenced him!"

_Silenced him?_

"Oh, don't worry, he's not dead!" said Akeega, reading the horror in Mercury's eyes. "Let's just say I 'gagged' him for a while. Didn't want him spoiling my fun, after all. I'll remove the gag now. Go ahead, Shynkon-_san_. Say hello to your girlfriend!"

The seconds trickled by like hours as Mercury waited for a response.

"Shynkon-san?" she asked, her voice sounding timid to her own ears, and for a long moment she was convinced she had been the victim of another of Akeega's cruel jokes.

Then he replied.

_"Mercury-san," _he said, and his voice was courteous and kind, just like she had imagined. It sounded distant, as if he were not in the room with them but speaking from somewhere else. _"I am so pleased to meet you. I am sorry it must be in such dire circumstances."_

"'Dire circumstances'," chuckled Akeega. "This is too much."

"Shynkon-san?" asked Mercury, stepping towards the sound of the voice. Scanning the corners of the room, she could see nothing but the tall supercomputers they had seen on the way in. She stopped with her back to one of them and called out "Where are you? I can't see you."

_"I'm right behind you," _said Shynkon, startling her. His voice was practically beside her ear. She span around, her mind full of possibilities. What would he look like? Would he be tall? Would he have dark eyes and sandy hair? Would he be smiling?

The blank face of a computer stared back at her.

_"Hello," _it said. _"I'm sorry I startled you."_

It was then that Mercury noticed where his voice was coming from.

It was coming from a small speaker on the computer's steel surface.


	6. Chapter 5

If Shynkon had been in current possession of a mouth, it would be smiling. 

He'd been not-smiling since the moment the beautiful young woman had entered the room some minutes previous. He had known who she was even before she had introduced herself. The sharp gleam of intelligence in her expectant eyes. Her voice, soft and warm beneath its outer layer of determined resolve. These things told him all he needed to know.

Mercury. She'd come for him.

His would-be smile had faded when she had been accosted by Akeega. Feelings he had never felt before had violently created themselves within his consciousness. Bitter jealousy as his tormentor had touched her gentle hand and slim shoulders. Cold hatred as he had abused her body and her feelings for his own amusement. Fierce compassion as her eyes, as delicate and dazzling as glasswork, had sparkled with tears.

And, amid these new and complex feelings, another that was all too familiar.

Hopelessness.

Unable to call out to her, unable to reach her from his prison in the corner of the room, he had been forced to watch in impotent silence as she had been hurt and humiliated. But now, as she stood before him, her eyes wide and her tiny lips parted, the feeling that would have been a smile returned.

_"Hello,"_ he said. _"I'm sorry I startled you."_

Confusion momentarily lowered her eyebrows. Then, she smiled.

If Shynkon had been in current possession of a heart, it would have leaped for joy.

"Hello," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Shynkon-san."

Somehow, she was looking right at him. Somehow, her eyes saw through the steel and circuits and looked right at him. Held in her gaze, Shynkon found himself unable to speak. Instead, she spoke up again. "I'm glad you're okay."

_"And I you," _he replied, managing to find his voice.

* * *

Across the room, a laugh like breaking glass and a third voice cut in.

"If you two are finished with the lovey-dovey stuff," Akeega began, "then we _do_ have the small matter of a schedule to keep." He frowned. "Speaking of which, where did Gauge get to? I sent him down to greet you, but you arrived several minutes ago..."

Venus showed him her best nonchalant shrug. "Maybe he ran into some trouble?"

"I see," growled Akeega, gathering her inference. "There are more of you."

_Ding. _They turned as one as something across the room rang for their attention. The elevator. The display above the doors indicated that the car was coming up towards them. Akeega exposed his teeth in what was probably intended as a grin. "That'll be him now."

"What makes you so sure?" asked Venus, voice full of bravado.

"Simple. Only we have the code required to use the elevator. Looks like your friends didn't make it." His eyes narrowed and his grin twitched like the death throes of some unnatural insect. "What a pity." The malice in his tone froze Mercury's blood white. Neither she nor Venus could believe that their friends had been defeated... but what if...

_Ding._ Another chime announced the lift's arrival. The twin doors slid apart with seemingly deliberate slowness.

Mercury's heart skipped a beat.

"Mars! Jupiter!" she cried in delight, rushing forward to meet them.

"Are you two okay?" asked Venus, right beside her. Standing side-by-side in the elevator, the arrivals nodded in synch. "No problem," replied Jupiter, showing them a thumbs-up. Mars shrugged. "We ran into one of the bad guys. Gave us a little trouble, but nothing we couldn't handle between us."

"That idiot!" blazed Akeega's voice. Mercury gasped as he forcibly pushed by her and glared at the elevator's occupants. "I can't believe he'd allow himself to be defeated by a couple of girls!"

"Oh, don't worry, he didn't _allow_ anything," Mars told him, a dangerous smile on her face. "In fact, he seemed quite upset when Jupiter smashed his body into fragments."

"What can I say?" said Jupiter, raising her hands in mock modesty.

"Where is he now?" demanded Akeega. Mercury thought it an odd question to ask. Mars and Jupiter exchanged a glance and grinned sheepishly. "Well, actually..." Jupiter started, fiddling idly with one of her rose-shaped earrings. Mars continued, "... the elevator wouldn't move without him, so..."

Seemingly unable to explain things further, the pair stepped aside to reveal the third occupant of the lift. It took Mercury a moment to register what she was seeing, and several more to try to make sense of it.

"Sorry, boss," said the amorphous green cloud. "I underestimated them."

"Gauge!" growled Akeega, his voice throbbing angrily. "You do know how much your vessel cost, don't you?" The cloud – Gauge, apparently – appeared to shrink in size and drifted further towards the back wall, putting more distance between itself and Akeega. "Y-yes, boss," it stammered. Mercury couldn't tell where the voice, its note of fear standing in contrast to the rasping tone, was coming from. She couldn't make out any specific features in its convoluted shape, much less a mouth.

"You disgrace the Sankyzo with your failure," Akeega spat. With his face and voice so venomously contorted, Mercury wondered how she had ever mistaken him for Shynkon. She looked back over her shoulder to where he stood in the corner. Somehow, she got the feeling he was looking back at her. She smiled, before turning her attention back towards the elevator.

"I suppose we'll just have to build you a new one when we've finished this place off," Akeega was telling Gauge. "Assuming I decide not to dissipate you instead." He bared his teeth. "After all, I'm nothing if not forgiving."

Mercury had the distinct feeling that he was, indeed, nothing.

However, Gauge seemed satisfied by this and floated out of the elevator. Mars and Jupiter stepped out behind him and a moment later, the doors slid to a close. Akeega approached the corner where Shynkon stood, Gauge following behind like a scolded puppy. "At least you finished the installation before allowing your vessel to be destroyed," Akeega addressed him without turning around. "And, if our guest knows what's good for him, the final preparations should be almost complete." He stopped in front of Shynkon. "What do you say, Shynkon-_san_? Are we ready?"

There was no reply.

"Excuse me? I didn't hear that." With shocking speed, his fist shot forward and slammed into Shynkon's surface. A cry of pain issued from the small speaker. Before Mercury could stop herself her feet were moving of their own accord and she was crossing the room towards them. She was forced to stop as strong hands gently, but firmly, closed around her shoulders. Mercury looked up into Jupiter's eyes. The big girl's expression spoke volumes. She was angry and upset too, but the time to attack wasn't now. Not until they knew what was happening.

"I'll ask you again," Akeega told Shynkon. "Is the G-Shack almost ready?"

_"Preparations are ninety-five percent complete,"_ Shynkon told him. The resignation in his voice was a vise on Mercury's heart. "Then I suggest you complete the other five percent," said Akeega in a voice indicating it was anything but a suggestion. "After all, I wouldn't want to kill..." He turned around and frowned at the quartet of Sailor Soldiers. "The blue one, was it? You all look the same to me. Good thing you're colour-coded."

_"I'll finish it,"_ promised Shynkon. _"Please, don't hurt her. Don't hurt any of them."_

Mercury knew she should say something to stop whatever was happening, but the words wouldn't come. Venus stepped forward in her place. "Finish what?" she asked, directing the question at Akeega. "Just what exactly are you doing here?"

Akeega grinned like a broken doll. "You want to know?" The question was rhetorical. "Fine, I'll tell you. It will entertain me in the few minutes we have left." He looked back over his shoulder. "Isn't that right, Shynkon? Just a few minutes now!"

_"Just a few minutes,"_ repeated Shynkon quietly.

"Let's see," Akeega began, turning back to them. "Long story short. We're pirates from the planet Reytek. In our natural form, we all look like Gauge here." He indicated to the green cloud floating beside him. "And, as you can see, he can't do a whole lot. However, our physiology allows us to inhabit mechanical bodies, among other things. They're called vessels and the raw materials used to make them are highly valuable. See, our planet's been mined until it's practically hollow, so now we're looking elsewhere. Other planets."

"You've come here to steal resources?" asked Mars.

"I prefer not to use the word 'steal'," replied Akeega. "I prefer 'obtain'."

Jupiter frowned. "And you're just allowed to 'obtain' these resources from anywhere you like?" Akeega gave a rusty laugh. "Not at all. Our government dictates that only uninhabitable planets are allowed to be mined. And that leaves all those planets like yours, practically bursting with valuable metals, ripe for the picking. That's what we do. We obtain the materials, sell them on the black market. We make a large profit for doing very little work."

"Good for you," said Venus half-heartedly. "So what's this G-Shack thing you keep talking about?"

"That'd be the giant electromagnet installed on the roof of this building," explained Akeega. "Once Shynkon's finished the preparations, it will align with a similar device on the underside of our ship and generate an intense magnetic field that will, ah, 'obtain' all of the useful materials within a radius of... hmm..."

"Two-hundred-and-fifty square miles," Gauge merrily chimed in.  
"Two-hundred-and-fifty square miles," repeated Akeega. Venus frowned. "When you say 'obtain'..." Akeega held up a hand, silencing her. "I mean, it will suck it all up, break it down and transport it into the ship's cargo holds. Incredible technology. Of course, it isn't supposed to be used in populated areas."

"Why not?" asked Mars, her voice tense. They all suspected the reason. "Ah..." Akeega made a display of looking apologetic. It fooled nobody. "Thing is, it tends to cause massive damage to the area. It tears up vehicles, buildings... anything that fits the specified materials."

Jupiter dared to ask. "And the people who live in these areas?"

Akeega shrugged. "Worst case scenario, they all die. Best case scenario... well, I'll be honest with you. Usually, the vast majority of them die. It's a pity, but... what can you do?"

A stunned silence was the only response from the Sailor Soldiers.

_250 square miles. _The number ran through Mercury's head. That was practically the entire surface area of Tokyo. A prefecture populated by roughly twelve million people.

_Twelve million people._ All dead.

All dead for Akeega's profit.

Mercury felt her fists clench so tightly that her hands went numb.

"You can't do this!" she cried, breaking her silence. "It's... it's genocide!"

"True," acknowledged Akeega. "Still, that's never stopped me before."

Dismay exploded like a bomb inside her stomach. How many millions of lives had he already claimed? How many senseless deaths had been reflected in his uncaring eyes? Her voice wavered as she pointed a similarly shaking finger at Akeega and told him, "This is unforgivable! Douse yourself in water and repent!"

"I'll be sure to do that," he assured her, the dead grin on his face unchanged.

"Stop this," warned Mars, dark eyes burning, "or we will stop you."

"Are those my choices?" asked Akeega. "Because if so, I'll have to choose the third option. Sento!"

_Sento?_

_"Mercury! Look out!"_

It was Shynkon's voice. Before Mercury could react to it, a sudden impact to her back pushed her forwards, driving the air from her lungs and forcing her to the ground. A moment later a jarring crash shook the room and stung her chest like a gong being rung. The pressure on her back lifted and Mercury struggled to get to her feet, accepting the helping hand that found hers and pulled her upright. "Sorry about tackling you," Mars apologised, "but you would have been crushed if that thing had landed on you."

_That thing?_

Mercury span around. Occupying the space she had been standing no more than ten seconds ago was a giant ball of leather. At least, that was her initial impression. As she stared at it, she realised it was a roughly humanoid – although almost spherical – figure, with thick arms and legs attached to it and a bald head stuck on the top. To Mercury's displeasure, the face upon it appeared unfinished. A pallid white in colour, it had narrow eyes, blood-red and unblinking, but nothing in the way of a nose or mouth and only tiny holes for ears. Its enormous body, at least seven feet tall and almost as wide, was dressed solely in black leather, just as Akeega was.

"Allow me to introduce Sento, the third and final member of the Sankyzo," announced Akeega. "Unlike Gauge," – he shot a sharp look at his defeated subordinate, who literally shrank in fear – "Sento's vessel was designed purely for... shall we say 'peacekeeping'?" He craned his neck upwards to address the monster. "Sento!" The ghost-white face tilted down towards him. "Kill the green, red and orange ones. Leave the blue one alive. She may prove useful if Shynkon attempts to resist us."

The slightest of nods in reply.

Mercury wasn't sure which upset her more: the coldness of Akeega's words or the fact that he considered her to be little more than a commodity to be used and discarded at his command, undeserving of a name and unworthy of actually being addressed. She imagined he felt that way about everything. About his own race. About his team.

About Shynkon.

Mercury stood at the head of the four Sailor Soldiers. Their faces were hard; their fists clenched. They watched as Sento lifted one of his enormous feet and took a step towards them. His eyes were volcanoes upon the white mountain of his head, the harsh fire within threatening to erupt and consume them.

"Protect her," whispered Venus. Two short nods in acknowledgement.

Sento took another step forward, his bulk throwing them into shadow.

And the battle began.


	7. Chapter 6

"Crescent Beam!" 

With those words, a golden beam of focused light burst from Venus' slender fingertip and shot across the room, striking the colossal Sento in the very centre of his bulk.

To no effect.

It was quickly becoming a pattern. So far, none of the four Sailor Soldiers had been able to make a dent in the monster, and while their natural speed and agility had enabled them to keep out of his reach thus far, time was not something they had in abundance.

In short, they needed a plan.

Mercury was devoting as much of her considerable brainpower to the problem as she could, but between evading Sento's crushing blows, looking out for her friends and being particularly careful not to allow the battle to stray too close to Shynkon's corner of the room, concentration was a difficult thing to maintain.

She watched anxiously as Sento swung a heavy fist at Mars. To her relief, her friend ducked beneath it with ease and returned a nimble, but ineffectual kick to his vast stomach. He followed her as she backpedalled rapidly, his eyes locked on the swish of her red skirt like a bull fixed on the toque of a matador's cape. She deliberately led him deeper into the room. Jupiter and Venus followed them and Mercury found herself unattended, at least for the time being. This was her chance.

Reaching up to her earlobe, she tapped one of the blue studs there and her transparent goggles appeared over her eyes. She trained them on Sento, beginning a thorough scan of his sizeable surface area. Precious seconds swam by as the results were collated.

The thermal scan grabbed her attention first. While most of his body was largely devoid of heat – understandably so, given its artificial nature – a spherical object in the centre of his chest cavity blazed hot like a lonely sun in lifeless space. It was possible that it was Sento himself: his true, cloud-like form, but the sheer intensity of the heat made Mercury doubtful. She swept her eyes around the room, searching for Gauge in order to make a comparison, but could find him nowhere. Likewise, there was no sign of Akeega. It appeared they had made their escape following Sento's chaotic debut... but that was something to worry about later.

She returned her attention to the data. If the heat was _not_ the gaseous form of Sento – and Mercury did not believe that it was – then it could be only one other thing: a power source, the heart that supplied the body with energy. In that case, defeating him was a simple case of destroying it.

Simple in theory, at least. Another scan revealed that his body was constructed largely from an unknown metal that shared a number of properties with steel. Unfortunately, its high density was one of them. Penetrating it would not be easy. She looked over at her friends. They were still bravely evading and returning Sento's attacks, but they were tiring. Time was running out. Did any of them have enough power to get through that thick skin?

_Sailormoon would be able to get to him_.

She pushed the thought away. It wouldn't help her find a solution.

A startled cry from across the room wrestled for her attention and emerged victorious. She looked over to see Venus sprawled on the floor, clutching her stomach and moaning. Sento's arm was still extended from the punch he had delivered, and as Mercury watched in wordless horror, he raised one massive foot with an aim to crush the helpless girl like an insect.

With a yell, Jupiter slammed her entire weight into the back of his other knee. His precarious balance wavered and he swayed like an oak tree in a thunderstorm before finally toppling over and hitting the carpeted floor with a muffled crash that shook the room from corner to corner. Mercury watched with near-palpable relief as Mars helped the winded Venus to her feet.

Sento was down. This was their chance to fight back. But how? She thought about their individual powers. Were any of them strong enough?

An idea.

"Everyone!" she called, running towards them. They met her halfway across the floor. They seemed to be fine, Venus included, although she still gingerly rubbed her belly with one hand as she waited expectantly for Mercury to begin. As Sento undertook the arduous task of righting himself, Mercury quickly explained her idea. At best, it was a gamble. At worst, it would drain their energy and leave them near-defenceless. In the absence of any other plan, it would have to do.

Mercury just hoped it worked.

The plan laid out, they took their positions as Sento finally regained his footing. He glared at them each in turn, before his eyes narrowed to fiery slits and he took a lumbering step in the direction of Mars. Venus grinned in spite of the situation. "I think he likes you!"

"Not the worst guy I've had interested in me," replied Mars, keeping her eyes firmly on the approaching threat. "That honour would have to go to Yuuichirou." They all shared a giggle at the plight of her long-suffering admirer, but the smiles left their faces as Sento took another step closer. It was time to attack.

"Fire..." cried Mars, linking her fingertips and channelling her destructive power into them, "Soul!" A jet of flame spiralled from her hands and enveloped the treading behemoth.

And the behemoth grew.

_Yes, _thought Mercury as she watched him grow even taller and wider before her eyes. As she had predicted, the heat from Mars' attack had placed tensile stress upon his metallic body, leading to thermal expansion. Sento stopped walking and looked down at his bulging body, brow furrowed with confusion. Similarly perplexed, his leather suit creaked and groaned as it struggled to contain his newfound additional girth.

That was the first stage. Now for the second.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" called Mercury, placing her hands on her chest and spinning on her toes. Shining droplets of ice-cold water formed around her body and she raised her arms up above her head, combining them into a shimmering torrent that she sent rushing in Sento's direction by throwing her arms outward. The freezing water splashed over him and a layer of ice formed around him like a crystal cocoon. The extreme cold caused an opposite reaction: he began to contract.

"It's working!" marvelled Mars as they watched him shrink back to his original size. Venus nodded enthusiastically. "This is the kind of physics lesson they should have at school!"

As Mercury had hurriedly explained to them, thermal expansion increases the energy stored in the bonds between the molecules of a material, causing it to expand. Contraction reverses the effect, and the process places stress on the seams joining it together, weakening the overall structure. Ordinarily, it would take repeated expansion-contraction cycles to significantly weaken something as strong as steel, but they had little time and finite power at their disposal. Given the strength of their attacks, Mercury hoped that once would be enough.

It would have to be.

"My turn!" As the ice encasing Sento began to crack, Jupiter stepped forward. She focused her power on the empty air above her head and a dazzling point of blue light crackled into existence there. "Jupiter!" It grew in intensity as she pirouetted on the spot beneath it. "Oak Evolution!" Fully charged now, she raised her hands to it and fired wave after wave of sizzling, seed-shaped bolts of energy at Sento's bulbous body. He stumbled backwards as they pounded the stressed, confused metal of his chest over and over again.

_Crack._

Unable to withstand the onslaught, the steel-like surface of his chest buckled and fissured. Through it all he remained standing, his eyes narrowed and fixed on his attacker, waiting for his turn. When it finally arrived, he was still on his feet and in one piece.

However, none of his four opponents failed to notice the glowing red orb that was now visible through the cracks of his damaged torso. Venus stepped forward triumphantly. "You're lucky," she informed the brute earnestly. "Not everybody gets a kiss from the goddess of love!" She raised her hand to her lips and kissed her fingertips. A heart of golden light appeared in the palm of her hand. "Venus! Love and Beauty Shock!" As she swept her arm outwards, the heart became a thick beam and powered towards Sento's exposed weak point.

A kiss from her lips to his heart.

The golden energy enveloped his power core and lit up the inside of his body like a lantern. The last thing they saw before it overwhelmed him were those red eyes, screaming at them with wordless fury.

The explosion was so bright that they had to avert their gaze, and when they looked back those furious eyes, and every other part of his artificial body – his vessel, Akeega had called it – were gone. Floating silently above a twisted heap of metal was a thick black cloud.

Looking at it, Mercury thought she felt those eyes on her still.

Then, she felt a strong arm close around her neck.

* * *

Shynkon watched with dismay as Akeega effortlessly subdued Mercury, wrapping one arm around her neck and using the other to immobilise her own arms, rendering her powerless to fight back. He had crept back into the room as Sento had been defeated, unnoticed until it was too late. Shynkon hadn't even been able to warn her.

Mercury's strangled, startled cry drew the attention of her friends, whose faces darkened with the same concern and anger Shynkon felt himself. A coward like Akeega had no right to touch her.

_A coward like me?_

"Let her go," demanded her friend Mars in a voice that matched her black hair.

"Now," added Jupiter, taking a threatening step towards the pair.

"One more step and I break her arm," replied Akeega conversationally.

They stopped as ordered. Shynkon felt impotent anger. It wasn't fair. He was using Mercury as he'd used Shynkon himself, as he'd used the unsuspecting people of so many peaceful cities all across the galaxy, as he now planned to use the people of Tokyo. They were nothing to him. Everything they were, everything they had been and everything they might be was nothing in the face of his own gain.

_It wasn't fair._

His confinement had never felt so claustrophobic. He struggled with all of his might to break free, but it was hopeless. He'd tried and failed so many times before. Besides, what could he have done to help her anyway?

"Her life is in your, quote-unquote, hands, Shynkon-_san_."

Akeega. Standing before him with the restrained Mercury locked in his grasp.

"Did you finish the preparations, as I asked?"

Slowly and reluctantly, Shynkon had indeed finished the final preparations for the G-Shack. He had hoped against hope that Akeega would be defeated, that the damned machine on the rooftop above them would never awaken again... but in a worst case scenario, finishing them might mean the difference between Mercury's life and death.

And here it was. The worst case scenario.

_"They're complete."_

"Good."

Mercury choked on a scream as Akeega drove a fist into her chest.

No reason. She had given him no reason.

He laughed spitefully as she flopped in his arms like a dying fish.

"I'm sorry..." he cooed into her ear. "Did that hurt?"

He lowered a hand – the same he had used to punch her – and began to lazily rub her chest, his fingers tracing slow circles on the white fabric of her uniform, scant inches from the gentle swelling of her breast. "All better now?" Mercury fidgeted and moaned with displeasure. Across the room, Venus clutched the wrists of Mars and Jupiter, stopping them in mid-step, their faces burning red with anger.

_"Please, stop."_

Shynkon couldn't keep the note of pleading from his voice.

_"I'll activate it. Just let her go. Please, Akeega."_

Mercury whimpered as Akeega's hand curled into a fist, roughly grabbing a handful of her uniform and pinching the soft skin beneath."Please _what_?"

_"Please, Akeega-sama."_

Akeega nodded, apparently satisfied by the honourific. "Very well. Bring it online."

Mercury opened her eyes and looked up at Shynkon. Tears shone like morning dew.

"Don't..." she gasped, struggling to push her words past the vise around her throat. "I'm not worth..."

_"You're wrong,"_ Shynkon told her.

The hum of electricity filled the air. The lights above flickered and dimmed.

_"G-Shack online," _he reported. _"Primary power transfer in progress."_

Akeega gave him a barbed wire grin and released his grip on Mercury. She stumbled forwards, her freed hands instinctively finding their way to her sore throat. Like a malicious child, Akeega's leg lashed out and swept Mercury's feet from under her. Akeega watched her tumble to the ground and stepped over her as if she were a puddle in the mud. He strode casually towards the door on the opposite side of the room, Sento's black mass roiling over to join him.

"Mercury-chan!"

Her friends were by her side immediately. Mars and Jupiter took her hands and helped her gently to her feet, being sure to hold her steady, while Venus looped her arms around her shoulders and held her tightly, whispering comforting words that were meant for nobody but her to hear. Jupiter and Mars joined the hug and for a moment Mercury was lost to Shynkon's sight amid a ring of linked arms.

Akeega watched from the doorway, black-faced with disgust. "You really are an idiot, Shynkon," he spat. "They'll die along with the rest of this pathetic city as soon as the G-Shack has gathered enough power. As will you. I'm leaving you here. We'll find a replacement. You're just too much of a liability. I'd say you have about ten minutes. Considering you've purchased them with – twelve million lives, was it? - I do hope you'll make them worthwhile." He turned to Sento. "Come. We'll return to the ship. Gauge is already on the rooftop."

If Sento were any more capable of speaking in his natural form, he did not demonstrate it. He silently followed his leader out of the room, leaving Shynkon and the girls alone. A giggle was heard and Mercury gently pulled free of the group embrace. "I'm fine, really, I'm fine!" she was insisting. "We don't have time to be silly!" She looked up at Shynkon and her smile painted joy over a canvas of fear. "And speaking of which, that was a very silly thing you did, Shynkon-san."

_"I'm sorry," _he replied, unable to form anything more articulate while lit by the light of her eyes. Her friends each showed him a smile laden with gratitude. "Thank-you, Shynkon-san," said Venus. "We'd all have done the same thing." Jupiter and Mars nodded in agreement. It meant a great deal to Shynkon.

"So, how do we stop this G-Shack?" inquired Jupiter.

"Can't you just turn it off?" asked Mars.

_"I'm afraid not," _Shynkon told them. _"Akeega disabled all the failsafes a long time ago."_

Venus rolled her eyes. "Figures. So, what else can we do?" The throaty hum from above had become a whine that was gaining in pitch. Mercury listened to it thoughtfully, and then spoke up. "Where is it drawing power from? You said there was a power transfer in progress, but transferring from where?"

_Of course!_ Shynkon couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it immediately.

_"The basement!"_ The sudden enthusiasm in his voice caused a row of puzzled looks. _"This building was owned by a company named DenTech," _he hurriedly explained. _"They were conducting experiments using high amounts of electricity, and to that end had several large generators installed in the basement. I saw the schematics while looking through their files. Gauge must have wired the G-Shack to channel power from them!"_

"So if we were to disable them..." began Mars, following his train of thought, "...Then the G-Shack would shut down," finished Jupiter. _"It would have to," _Shynkon confirmed. _"The electromagnetic field it generates requires a great deal of power. Without it, it'd be useless."_

"Well, we'd better get started," decided Venus. "We don't have much time. Jupiter, head to the basement with Mercury. Mars and I will go up to the rooftop to keep an eye on the G-Shack. We'll use our wrist communicators to stay in contact."

_"Wait!" _The four turned to look at Shynkon questioningly.

_"I'll go with Mercury-san,"_ he told them. _"If it's okay."_

They exchanged glances. "That would be lovely," Mercury told him. The warmth in her smile told him that she meant it. "But... I'm not sure how..."

_"It's a simple barrier circuit," _he told her. _Simple, perhaps, but decidedly effective_, he thought to himself. _"If you disable it," _he continued aloud, _"I'll be able to leave here, at last."_

Another glance was exchanged.

"Leave?" Mercury asked him. "I'm not sure I understand..."

She silently followed his instructions as he told her where to locate the barrier circuit and how to disable it. As her agile fingers moved, Shynkon felt its constrictive pressure ease. Finally, it lifted entirely. The open air had never felt better as he flowed as quickly as he could from his prison. He swelled to his full size and turned a couple of circles in the air, before humility caught up with joy and he shrank with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry," he said shyly. "I've been stuck in there for so long."

Mercury watched with wide-eyed wonder as a cloud, powder blue and shaped like cotton candy, was exhaled like a satisfied sigh from the open surface of the supercomputer. Light seemed to glow softly within a translucent shape that rippled like the surface of a pond. As she watched, the cloud swelled and twirled in the air before quickly condensing.

"I'm sorry," said Shynkon shyly. "I've been stuck in there for so long."

* * *

"S-Shynkon-san..." Mercury murmured. "You're... like them... only..."

"You mean I'm a Reytekian?" He laughed, a joyous sound. "Well, of course I am. What else would I be?" His soft-spoken voice no longer had its electronic edge.

"I thought..." Mercury exchanged glances with her friends. One by one, their puzzled frowns turned to smiles. "It doesn't matter," she told Shynkon, looking back at him with a grin. "This is much better." She took a step towards him and he drifted closer to her. She reached her hand out towards him but halted suddenly. "Is it... okay?" she asked tentatively. "It's fine," he told her. She thought she heard nervousness in his tone.

Keeping her eyes on him, she tugged on the fingertips of her glove and slowly pulled it loose, letting it drop silently to the floor. Gently, gently, she reached out and touched him with her bare hand. He was soft as silk, and she shuddered with pleasure as she felt him trickle and flow between her fingers like warm honey.

"You're beautiful," she whispered to him, the words coming unbidden. When her ears heard them they burned a bright red. Her lips parted with surprise as his light surface darkened suddenly. "S-so are you," he stammered. She laughed with delight as she realised she had made him blush too. He darkened to an opaque navy as he wrapped himself around her hand. Her fingers tingled. _He's holding my hand. _The thought caused a fresh wave of crimson to flow across her face.

They remained that way for some time. Blinking and breathing were put on a temporary hiatus. Mercury's eyes never strayed from him and she knew he was looking back at her. She wondered how long she could stay like this. She knew she had something to do, so it couldn't be too long.

But just a few more moments would be nice.

She awoke from her reverie as gentle hands touched her shoulders. "You two..." began Venus hesitantly, "we have to take care of the G-Shack..."

"I'm sorry," said Shynkon, disentangling himself from Mercury's hand and drifting backwards. "I forgot all about it..." Mercury nodded, her eyes dropping to the floor. She wondered if her cheeks were actually glowing. It felt like they were. "Me too," she admitted. She kneeled and retrieved her glove, quickly sliding it back on.

"Now, the plan," said Venus. Her tone was one of action, but Mercury could see the pleased smile on her lips. Jupiter and Mars wore it too. They said nothing, and Mercury was glad. She might have died if they had.

"Shynkon-san," Venus continued, turning to face him. "You'll show Mercury the way to the generators?" He tilted forwards in what was probably a nod. "Yes." Venus turned to Jupiter. "You should go with them, in case they need any help in disabling them."

"Please, we'll be fine," insisted Shynkon. "If I may, I'd suggest that Jupiter-san accompany you to the rooftop. Akeega will be waiting there."

"Akeega?" questioned Mars. "Didn't he say he was going to board his ship?"

"He did," replied Shynkon, "but he won't have. I may not have been able to sabotage the G-Shack, but I did manage _something_ before I left that computer."

"Oh?" asked the four girls in one voice.

Shynkon darkened slightly and said modestly, "I accessed his ship's mainframe and disabled the gravity lift." He turned a somersault in the air. "He won't be going anywhere!"

With time running out, they split into two groups and parted. Mercury followed Shynkon as he led her back towards the staircase she had climbed to arrive here.

"Oh, you two?"

Mercury looked back over her shoulder at the sound of Venus' voice. The blonde shot her a wink and said cheekily, "Try not to get distracted, okay?"

Mercury's hair turned purple.


	8. Chapter 7

Floor after floor after floor. 

If the stairwell that spanned the DenTech building from top to bottom had seemed arduous on the way up, the intangible but very urgent pressure pushing down from the rooftop made the return journey seem no easier. Mercury raced down the repetitive right angles of the square spiral staircase as swiftly as she dared, ignoring the sickly sting of lactic acid in her legs. Slowing down was out of the question and stopping was an impossibility. She could rest when the proverbial Sword of Damocles no longer hung above Tokyo and all that she held dear.

Shynkon was at her side, his diaphanous form apparently exempt from fatigue. It was with great relief that she watched as he pulled ahead of her slightly and diverted her from the unbroken chain of steps towards a narrow doorway. "This will lead us to the basement," he explained. Mercury nodded breathlessly, standing bent with her hands on her knees. Shynkon's smooth shape knotted slightly with concern. "Mercury-san? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied, looking up at him with a smile between her flushed cheeks. "Shall we continue?" She pulled open the door and gestured for Shynkon to pass through. He did so, and she slipped in after him. The passage beyond was too narrow for them to travel abreast so she walked behind him, admiring the way his gentle blue aura lit the walls on either side. That such a beautiful being had been subjugated by Akeega and his pirates made her heart sink into her stomach like a stone.

"Shynkon-san?"

"Yes?" He did not turn to face her, although it occurred to her that she had no idea how he actually perceived the world. He had no discernible eyes and yet he could see. Perhaps he was aware of everything around him. Perhaps he was looking at both her and the route ahead even now.

"How did you get here?" she asked. "To Earth, I mean? What happened?"

He said nothing, and for a moment Mercury was certain she had upset him. "I'm sorry," she apologised quickly, "If you don't want to talk about it..."  
"No, I'd be glad to," he replied. "It's just..."

Mercury waited. "Mm?"

"You." He paused, before clarifying, "You're everything I hoped you'd be."

Mercury hoped he didn't see the warm tears or the hand that quickly brushed them away.

"So, you wanted to hear my story?"

She nodded. He seemed to see that.

"It's nothing special," he admitted. "Back home – a place named Netsune, on Reytek – I was regarded as one of the brightest students of mathematics in the world. They said I was gifted. I suppose that's true. There was no major effort on my part. Numbers just come easily to me."  
"What's two-hundred-and-seventy-four multiplied by four-hundred-and-seventy-two?" asked Mercury.

"One-hundred-and-twenty-nine-thousand, three-hundred-and-twenty-eight," he replied immediately. He was correct. "Just checking," she said cheekily, unable to suppress a giggle. Shynkon glowed with laughter of his own, before continuing with his tale.

"So, I was in my final year of tuition. I was happy, doing what I enjoyed. I had a promising career ahead of me. My kin were very proud. My reputation began to spread." He paused. The rhythmic tap of Mercury's heels measured the moments before he spoke again. "I suppose that's why they targeted me. The Sankyzo, I mean. Akeega and the others. They abducted me one night, told me they needed a mathematician and that I came highly recommended. They said they'd kill me if I refused, and my kin too."

"Your family? How awful..." said Mercury sadly. "I'm so sorry, Shynkon-san..."

"Since then I've been helping them operate the G-Shack." He spoke as if from some faraway place. "I told myself that I had no choice, that I had to do it to protect my kin, but when I think of all the people that have died because of me..."

"Don't, Shynkon-san," interrupted Mercury fiercely, her voice breaking with sudden emotion. "Don't you dare think that. You are not the villain here." She reached towards him, feeling the need to touch him, to comfort him. He allowed her to, becoming opaque again as she softly stroked his silky surface.

"W-we should keep moving," he stammered after a slow moment had passed them by. Mercury nodded, withdrawing her hand and feeling slightly ashamed of her burning face. There would be time for this later, she hoped. Right now, the only thing that mattered was disabling the G-Shack.

The thin corridor took them a short distance further before finally depositing them in a large room. As Shynkon had promised, it was inhabited by three huge generators. They were clustered together like slumbering beasts, side-by-side, each a solid metal brick the length of a car and twice as tall, and each emitting a hum like a swarm of furious insects. _Perhaps we should have brought Jupiter with us after all, _thought Mercury. Conversely, Shynkon seemed undaunted. They crossed the room to stop at a computer terminal. "This station is linked directly to the generators," he explained. "I should be able to shut them down from here."

Mercury watched, fascinated, as he flowed like pouring sand into the computer's casing until it had swallowed him up entirely. Long, empty moments came and went. "Shynkon-san?" she called out nervously. Was he okay? "I'm here," he called back, his voice muffled through the terminal's plastic casing but otherwise fine. "But I have bad news. I can't shut them down. The shutdown program has been deleted."

"Akeega..." muttered Mercury. To Shynkon she asked, "What do we do now?"

"The opposite," he replied. "I'll disable their safety protocols. That will cause them to overload."

"Sounds a little dangerous," she observed.

"It is," he agreed. "A moment, please."

She waited.

The stable hum of the generators suddenly increased in pitch to an insistent whine. The lights in the room struggled to survive, and as Mercury watched they died one-by-one with a prolonged electric groan. She looked back at the terminal to see Shynkon emerge, flowing into the air like blue ink in a fish tank. They quickly made their way back to the room's entrance. The whine became a squeal and visible arcs of cobalt electricity danced across the metal bodies of the generators. "I strongly suggest we leave," advised Shynkon. Mercury held up a hand. She had to make sure they were completely destroyed. It was the only way to ensure that Tokyo would be safe.

She listened to the cacophonous music that filled the room: the falsetto scream of the generators and the crackling beat of blue lightning, and knew what she had to do.

"Mercury!" she cried, thrusting her hand forward and directing her full power into its palm. A whirlpool of water appeared there and spiralled outwards, quickly taking a new shape: that of a musical instrument with a curved neck and delicate strings of coruscating droplets. Plucking at the strings of the Mercury Harp, she sent sapphire threads dancing into the air like liquid snakes before weaving them together into a solid column. "Aqua Rhapsody!" At her command, the pillar of water funnelled outwards and lashed the generators like a whip. The awakened beasts screeched with pain. A spider's web of electricity spread across the room.

Mercury turned to face Shynkon. "_Now _I strongly suggest we leave."

"Agreed."

They took off, Mercury in the lead and Shynkon close behind, the narrow corridor lit only by a sporadic blue, the unholy wail of the mortally wounded generators drowning out footsteps and voices alike, until...

The world shook and everything went white.

* * *

Jupiter felt the vibration in the soles of her feet, half a second before the entire building trembled like a tuning fork. She spread her boots apart, balancing her weight equally and steadying herself. Mars dropped into a crouch, hands flat against the concrete. Venus toppled backwards, landing hard on her behind. After a few moments, the tremors subsided. "Ow," complained Venus, standing and rubbing her bruised backside. "I'm going to be sore all over tomorrow morning."

"Mercury?" Mars was speaking into her wrist communicator. "Are you okay?"

Silence.

"It'd be such a pity if she didn't make it," came a snide voice. Akeega stood a short distance away, flanked on either side by the vaporous forms of Gauge and Sento. "Sacrificing herself to save the city... it's enough to get you all choked up."

"Shut up," snarled Jupiter, "or you _will _be getting choked up."

The six of them had been engaged in a stalemate since the girls' arrival. With the Sailor Soldiers trusting Mercury and Shynkon to disable the G-Shack, and the Sankyzo unable to leave due to the sabotage of their gravity lift, there was little either side could do save for trade threats and wait.

"Mercury? Can you hear me? Mercury?!"

_"I'm here..."_

Jupiter's heart swelled with relief at the sound of her voice.

"Are you okay?" Mars asked. "What's going on down there?"  
_"We destroyed the generators," _came Mercury's reply. _"The explosion dazed me a little, but I'm fine now. Shynkon-san's fine too. We're coming back up now."_

"Got it," said Mars. "See you soon. Well done, you two."

An embarrassed giggle from Mercury and the communication ended.

Jupiter placed her hands on her hips and smirked over at Akeega. "I suppose you're finished, then," she remarked. "Now that the G-Shack is completely useless."

"I wouldn't say _completely _useless..." replied Akeega enigmatically.

"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Venus.

"Stick around for a moment and you'll find out."

All eyes turned to the G-Shack. At first glance it resembled a gigantic metal flower that had been planted directly into the rooftop. Enormous purple petals stretched away from a round red torus. Until the explosion in the depths of the building it had been emitting a deepening hum as it greedily drank the building's life force like a mosquito, but now it was silent.

Then, it wasn't.

* * *

"Shynkon-san?"

"Yes?" He was in the lead again, his luminance a lantern in the dark corridor.

"What happened to your vessel?"

"My vessel?"

Mercury nodded. "Your physical body. It's called a vessel, isn't it?"

"That's correct." He seemed hesitant to continue.

Mercury hesitated herself before asking, "The Sankyzo... did they destroy it?"

"No," he replied. A pause. "I did not have one. Only the wealthy can afford them."

"Oh..." Mercury fell silent, unable to stifle her curiosity but unwilling to pry. He spoke again before she could resolve herself in either direction. "Most on Reytek aspire to own a vessel. Well, aside from the Etherealists. Celebrities and sportsmen have them. The best jobs can only be done by those with hands." He loosed a wistful sigh that caused his surface to ripple like grass in the breeze.

"I think you're wonderful the way you are," Mercury told him, staring bashfully at her feet as she did so. Shynkon darkened. "Th-thank-you," he said gratefully. "But I would like to own a vessel someday. Having two hands and two feet... being able to touch, able to run... being able to hold..." He trailed off, his colour deepening until he was practically purple.

The silent moment that passed lasted a long time, and not nearly long enough.

_"Mercury? Can you hear me?" _The silence was broken as Mars' urgent voice issued from her wrist communicator. Mercury answered the call. "Mars? What's the matter?"

_"You two need to get back up here, now."_

"I don't understand. What's-"

_"It's the G-Shack." _Mars' voice was heavy with dismay. _"It's activated."  
_

* * *

"Well, it's about time you two showed up."

Upon their arrival at the rooftop several hurried minutes later, Mercury and Shynkon were greeted by Akeega in his usual insincere tone. "You were almost too late to see it."

What Mercury could see was a monstrous metal plant that could only have been the G-Shack. A thick beam of lemon-coloured light emanated from its centre and reached up into the night sky, disappearing into the dark clouds that had taken up residence there like roosting crows.

Shynkon's shape contorted with anger. "Akeega! What have you done?!"

"I haven't _done _anything, Shyn-chan. The G-Shack is merely following its programming." He seemed maddeningly unfazed by what promised to be their impending destruction. "It's hardcoded to activate automatically when the power transfer ends. You won't find that in the manual, mind you. You can thank Gauge for that." The noxious green cloud beside him literally bulged with pride.

"But, we destroyed the generators!" insisted Shynkon. "There shouldn't _be_ any power!" Akeega shook his head slowly and spoke as if addressing a particularly stubborn child. "You stopped the power transfer before it was complete, but what about all the power it absorbed _before _you pulled the plug? It will still activate, only for a shorter range and duration. The good news is, you've probably saved several thousand of those innocent lives you seem to care so much about. The bad news is, you, them," – he gestured to the four horrified members of the Sailor Team – "and this entire district is about to be torn to shreds."

"And you, too," Jupiter reminded him, "unless you stop it, right now."

"Oh, that's impossible," he said, waving a dismissive hand. "We disabled all the safety protocols years ago."

Anger boiled in Mercury's stomach. How could he be so careless? So stupid?

"There's only one way out for all of us," he continued. He turned back to face Shynkon. "Reactivate the grav lift. I'll allow you all to board the ship. We'll be safe there."

Venus stepped forwards, eyes alight with fury. "And leave Tokyo to be destroyed? Even if I thought you'd keep your word, I'd rather die than let that happen." She looked to her team-mates, and one-by-one they nodded once in agreement. Akeega shrugged. "Then die," he said flippantly. "See if I care." He turned to Shynkon once more. "They've made their choice. Activate the grav lift."

"No."

Akeega's smirk died. Its stiff corpse remained on his lips. "What do you mean, 'no'?"

Above, the rumble of thunder.

"I mean, I won't do it," replied Shynkon defiantly. His form billowed and swelled as he went on, "You've forced me to do so many terrible things, Akeega. Things that I can never atone for. I was selfish and weak. I gave in to your threats and told myself I had no choice, but I did. I'm making a choice now. I won't aid you for a moment longer. If we all have to die to stop your scheme once and for all, then so be it." He floated across the rooftop to join the Sailor Soldiers. "Besides..." He stopped before Mercury and welcomed her gentle hands. "I won't leave her."

"Shynkon-san..." Fierce emotions bubbled within Mercury and she struggled to keep them inside.

The black clouds that choked the sky burst and cold rain began to fall like tears.

Akeega shook his head in disbelief. "Are you _insane_?!" he cried, all traces of his former stoicism stripped away to show the selfish, desperate child beneath. "We're going to _die_, you idiots! Do you understand that?!"

"Eh." Jupiter shrugged. "We've died twice already. It's not _that_ bad."

Akeega stumbled towards them, eyes wild, those of a cornered animal. "Shynkon! Activate the lift _now _or I'll make you sorry, you little-" Strong hands seized his arms, stopping him in his tracks. "Don't you dare touch him," hissed Jupiter. "Don't you _dare_." She shoved him roughly away and he lost his footing, tumbled to the floor and didn't bother getting up. Thick raindrops pelted his defeated, sorry frame.

Behind them, the G-Shack let out a roar and the air around them was suddenly heavy.

"It's started!" announced Shynkon. "We don't have much time left!"

Mercury gasped as she felt a tremendous weight tug at her ears. Her earrings, she realised. The three blue studs in each ear were being pulled loose by the G-Shack's magnetic field. She put her hands to them and bowed her head as she felt the ravenous monster's coarse, invisible tongue lap hungrily at her tiara.

"This has gone too far!" yelled Jupiter, struggling to keep hold of her own precious rose earrings. She raised her arms above her head and closed her eyes, calling down the power of her guardian planet. An antenna affixed to her tiara telescoped up above her head, meeting a bolt of lightning hurled from the sky and channelling the electrical energy down into her body. "Supreme Thunder!" she boomed, throwing her arms wide and directing that energy towards the G-Shack. It washed across the construct's surface like the tide on the beach, leaving no visible damage. "Damn it!" cursed Jupiter.

"We've only got one chance!" cried Venus, shouting to make herself heard above the G-Shack's sustained growl. "We've got to destroy it! We'll use a Sailor Planet Attack!" She nodded in response to the others' questioning looks. "I know, I know, but she isn't here and we have no other options. We'll just have to make it a good one! Everybody ready?"

As they had done upon their arrival at the DenTech building, the foursome joined hands to form a circle. Mercury looked over at the G-Shack's hellish visage. It was quenching its thirst now, its powerful beam drawing in the thick curtains of rain. Soon it would no longer be satisfied with water and jewellery. Soon it would hunger for more. Furnishings. Cars. Entire houses. It would consume them all, and their inhabitants along with them.

It had to be stopped.

She closed her eyes and concentrated. She thought of all the things she had to protect. She thought of her mother and the hospital she worked so tirelessly at. She thought of the families of her friends. She thought about Crown and all the lazy afternoons spent within its familiar walls. She thought of her school and all the students who had worked so hard to get there. She thought of Usagi, the girl who had brought them all together, a girl just now becoming a woman.

She thought of Shynkon.

"Mercury-san." He was right beside her, his luminous form warm against her wet uniform, his voice soft and content. "I'm happy to have met you."

She would protect them all. They would do it together.

"Mercury Crystal Power!" she cried, summoning every drop of energy in her tired body, willing it to cut through the rain and the din and silence the dreadful machine that threatened everything she cared for. She tightened her grip on her friends' hands, feeling their own energy flowing through her, uniting them in body and mind.

"Mars Crystal Power!"  
"Jupiter Crystal Power!"  
"Venus Crystal Power!"

The energy intensified, filling her with light until she could not contain it any longer.

"Sailor..."

Her cry was one quarter of a single voice, a song of love and war to the heavens.

"Planet..."

_I'm happy to have met you._

"Attack!"

The G-Shack roared in rage and agony as the tidal wave of radiant light struck it.

It roared only once.

* * *

It took a moment for the reality of their victory to sink in.

Then, the quartet celebrated in the only appropriate fashion: they grabbed one another and hopped up and down, shouting and laughing and crying. Mercury extricated herself from a group hug and turned to find Shynkon waiting for her. They both moved at the same time, rushing to be close to one another, their bodies entwining, his warmth wrapping around her and her arms holding him firm against her chest.

"Save a little for the rest of us, Shynkon-san!" came Venus' cotton voice, and a moment later the five of them were locked together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, each piece integral, each a part of a beautiful picture. Mercury held Shynkon, he held Mercury, and her friends held them both in a protective cocoon of warmth and love.

The rain had ceased, the clouds torn asunder by their combined power.

"Sailor Soldiers."

It was the voice of Akeega. They turned as one to regard him.

"I..." He frowned. "That is, you... I mean, you saved us, all of us, so..."

"You're welcome," said Mercury with a smile.

He looked away. "After everything I did to you, and you still..." He held out his hand. "Could you ever forgive me?"

Mercury thought about it. He had done so many vile things. He had lied, manipulated and killed. He was a reprehensible demon who warranted no forgiveness. That was all true, but...

_What would Usagi-chan do?_

"I forgive you," replied Mercury, taking his hand and shaking it.

"Big mistake," he whispered.

* * *

Shynkon watched in abject terror as Akeega dragged the struggling Mercury towards the edge of the rooftop, one arm clamped around her neck like a bear trap. "You think I'd let you get away with this?!" he spat in her frightened face. "You've destroyed my entire operation!"

"H-hurting me won't change a-anything..." gasped Mercury.

"You're right," admitted Akeega, "but it will make me feel better."

"_Stop!_" commanded Mars, rushing towards them, Jupiter and Venus at either side.

"No, _you _stop!" returned Akeega. He and his prisoner had reached the very edge of the rooftop now. Mercury's feet scrambled for purchase on the slippery stone. Beyond there was nothing but empty darkness until the hard concrete of the street far below. "Come any closer and I'll throw her over the edge." His threat worked as desired and the trio halted, their faces identical masks of fear. "This is becoming quite the routine," said Akeega. "Except, unlike last time, I have nothing to lose now."

"Please don't do this."

Akeega turned to look at the speaker.

"Please," Shynkon said again, "just let her go. She doesn't deserve this. She doesn't deserve _any_ of this. If you want somebody to punish, then have me instead. You can do whatever you want to me. Just let her go. I'm begging you, Akeega."

He meant every word.

Akeega stared at him curiously. "Does she really mean that much to you?"

"I love her," replied Shynkon.

He meant that too.

"Good," said Akeega.

And pushed her.

* * *

The next few moments were hazy and disjointed, half-remembered fragments of a nightmare.

Mercury's scream as she tumbled over the edge and was swallowed by the darkness.

Three pairs of feet freed from inertia and running.

The helix of golden light that surrounded Venus.

"Venus Love Me Chain!"

The light becoming a chain of linked hearts that leaped off the roof like a snake chasing its prey.

"Mars!" A burning bow appearing in the red soldier's hands. "Flame..."

Eternity.

And then, Mercury appearing impossibly at the roof's edge, one hand clutching Jupiter's wrist and the other wrapped around Venus' chain.

The pair pulled her to safety and supported her as they walked her away from the rain-slick precipice. She welcomed Shynkon into her arms without a word. "I'm sorry," he sobbed, his body becoming heavy with dolorous moisture. "I couldn't do anything... I'm sorry..."

"It's okay," she whispered back, making no attempt to hide her tears. "It's okay now."

When they finally separated, they looked up to find Akeega and his cohorts huddled together at the corner of the roof. Jupiter stood to one side, Venus to another, and aimed directly at Akeega's heart was a flaming arrow drawn from Mars' bow.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" she asked him darkly.

The carcass of his smile twitched. "I should've thrown her further."

Mars' eyes narrowed.

"Sni-"

"Stop!" cried Mercury, rushing forward to stand beside her. "Don't shoot him!"

"Mercury?" Mars was incredulous. "You don't actually want to give him another chance?!"

"Just one," replied Mercury. She glared at Akeega, her eyes an oceanic storm. "You have something," she began, "that many would cherish and use to do good, but all you do with it is cause harm and tragedy. You don't deserve to have such a thing."

"You're talking about my vessel?" asked Akeega suspiciously.

She nodded firmly. "Yes. I demand that you vacate it and give it to somebody more deserving."

_Somebody more...?_

"What do you say, Shynkon-san?" she asked, turning to look at him with a wink.

He couldn't say anything.

"Relinquish it," Mercury went on, turning back to Akeega, "or Mars will destroy it. Either Shynkon-san has it, or nobody does." Akeega looked from her, to Mars' unwavering stare, to Shynkon, and back to Mercury. "Then destroy it," he decided spitefully. "I see no reason to be charitable."

"I might remind you, Akeega," said Shynkon, floating forward to be by Mercury's side once again, "that if that vessel is destroyed, it will be impossible for any of us to pilot your ship. Unless you want to be stranded on this planet forever, I'd suggest you do as the lady says."

"I dunno," smirked Jupiter. "I think we could find a place for them here. My calculator's pretty roomy..."

Akeega looked helplessly to either side, where Gauge and Sento hovered.

"I think you should do it, boss," was Gauge's opinion. "I mean, I got a wife back home and Sento's got his kin to take care of, and all..."

Sento said nothing, but tilted forwards in agreement.

"I'm afraid," said Mercury, "you're in a classic zugzwang scenario."

* * *

"Shynkon-san?"

Her voice. Her beautiful voice, the tinkling of water in a stream.

He felt warm. He felt comfortable. He felt the same, but somehow different.

"Can you hear me?"

"Yes," he answered, but his voice came from somewhere else.

From a mouth. From _his _mouth.

He somehow opened the vessel's eyes – his eyes, now – and her eyes were the first thing they saw, sparkling with relief and joy. He felt something on the back of his head – _his _head? – and realised she was cradling him in her arms. "Hello," he said stupidly.

"Hello," she said back.

He tried to stand on his new legs and gasped as they gave way beneath him. "Take it easy," came another voice from nearby. Jupiter's, he realised. "We've had years to get used to our bodies. Don't do too much too soon."

He allowed Jupiter and Mars to help him to his feet. He looked around for Mercury. He was taller than her now. He hadn't expected that, for some reason. He looked down at his arms. Stretched them, brought his hands close to his face and flexed his fingers. Mercury giggled delightfully. "How is it?" she asked. He reached out towards her, but the distance was all wrong. His arms weren't long enough. She was too far away. "Here, let me help," she said, and effortlessly solved the problem by stepping towards him. She was a perfect fit for his arms. "Thank-you," he said, holding her close and speaking the words into her soft blue hair. "Thank-you so much."

He looked to the right, where a blood-red cloud hung in the air between a green cloud and a black cloud. "And thank-you too, Akeega." The crimson cloud rotated nonchalantly. "Not like I had a choice," it said. "But take care of it, will you? It's a damn fine vessel."

"Sure is," piped up another voice, and Shynkon gasped as he felt a hand slap lightly across his new buttocks. "Damn fine indeed!"

"Venus-chan!" spluttered Mercury, aghast, before they all collapsed into giggles.

* * *

The quintet watched as the shapeless forms of the Sankyzo disappeared into the night sky, carried back to their ship by the reactivated gravity lift. "Are you sure they won't be able to cause any problems up there by themselves?" Mercury asked Shynkon. "Don't worry," he told her. "Every system is fitted with a barrier circuit. They won't be able to do a thing without me." 

She nodded slowly. "And... about that..."

He looked at her, standing beside him. "Yes?"

It was Venus who voiced the question. "You'll stick around for a while?"

He thought about it. He wanted to stay. At that moment, he wanted to stay on this planet forever. He wanted to stay with _her_ forever. But he knew that was impossible. He belonged on Reytek. His kin had certainly missed him terribly. And the Sankyzo had to be delivered to the authorities. He'd have to pilot the ship home soon.

However.

It occurred to him that piloting an interstellar ship, even with the autopilot enabled, was not an easy task for anybody, much less somebody who had only been in his vessel for less than ten minutes.

"I suppose I'd better stay for at least a couple of days," he finally answered. "Just until I work out how to use this new body of mine."

He felt warmth spread across his cheeks as Mercury squeezed his arm.

"We've got lots of spare rooms at the shrine," suggested Mars.

Venus gave a mischievous chuckle. "Oh, we've heard _all_ about the Hikawa Hotel," she said sarcastically. "I remember Usagi-chan speaking at _great _length about her Mamochan and a steamy bathroom..."

"That was an _accident_!" insisted Mars. "I can't _believe_ she told you that!"

"He could always stay with me," said Jupiter, speaking over their squabble. "I can be trusted not to peek on him, and I'll make sure he always has something good to eat."

"Oh, even better!" complained Venus. "Don't they say that a man's heart is in his stomach?"

"No, they don't," sniped Mars.

"Anyway," Venus continued unabated, "here are three reasons why he should stay with me. Reason number one..."

Shynkon looked down at Mercury. "You have good friends, Mercury-san."

"I do," she concurred. "Oh, and that reminds me..."

She let go of his arm and stepped around to stand in front of him. "I'm only Sailormercury when I have to fight," she explained. He frowned, confused. It was a new sensation. "What do you mean?"

"Close your eyes," she commanded.

He did so.

"No peeking!"

He nodded. A moment passed, and he thought he heard or felt a brief flash.

"You can open your eyes now."

He did so.

The girl who stood before him was not Mercury, and yet somehow she seemed familiar to him. There was a certain gleam in her eyes and a warmth and softness when she spoke. She beamed at him. "This is how I really look." Shynkon looked her up and down. She was different on the outside, but somehow the same, and no less beautiful than before.

Just like him.

"Mercury-san..." he whispered.

"Silly." She put a hand to her mouth and giggled coyly. "Please, call me Ami."

He tested the word. "Ami-san?"

The girl named Ami blushed and examined her shoes with keen interest. "Perhaps... you should try calling me Ami-chan..." Her eyelids dropped to conceal her embarrassment.

He tried. "Ami-chan..."

The word seemed to fit his new mouth perfectly.


	9. Epilogue

"Wonderful, isn't it?" 

An emerald field blanketed the world in every direction Ami cared to turn, its lush surface still slick with the rainfall of the previous evening. Above, the rainbow reclined lazily between cotton clouds and the sun sparkled in a sapphire sky.

"You are indeed," replied Shynkon.

She giggled shyly. "Silly. I was talking about the view."

She turned to look at him and was struck by his beauty. Eyes that had been cold and callous were now soft and warm; lips that had voiced such cruel words now spoke with calm and compassion. A face that had before seemed arrogant in its perfection now shone with a gentle grace and when he smiled, he gave off a radiance that was unmistakably his and his alone: the same radiance she had seen in him from the very beginning.

"Ami-chan?"

The sound of her name slipped through her reverie and she realised she'd been staring at him. Blushing, she averted her eyes, letting them trail instead over the pair of bicycles lain carefully upon the grass. Loaned one at Minako's insistence, Shynkon had quickly proven himself as adept at cycling as at walking and running. She hoped also to teach him to dance...

If they had time.

She closed her eyes, shuddering with ill-concealed pleasure as she felt his touch, light against her bare shoulders, his hands warm and gentle. She slid backwards until her head rested against the firm hardness of his chest and the soft white fabric that clothed it. His arms enveloped her, their powerful muscles restrained, wrapping her in warmth and security. "Ami-chan," he whispered again. His hot breath tickled her earlobe. "I..."

He said nothing more for quite some time, and neither did Ami.

* * *

"Shynkon-san!"

His name was a joyous cry of invitation as she skipped lightly on bare feet, the dewy grass causing her toes to tingle. She ran and he chased, and then she chased and he ran, and it was with a satisfied exhaustion that Ami allowed herself to be scooped up into his arms and carried back to the picnic blanket, a pink island alone amid the verdant ocean. Reluctantly disentangling herself from him, her eyes caught sight of the picnic basket so generously donated by Makoto – also at her insistence – and she realised she was hungry.

They talked as they ate, about everything: the things they had in common; the things they didn't; the things they wanted to see and do; the things they had done and the things they would do again. He told her about his home and his kin and she told him about her parents and her friends, and about a girl she hoped he would someday meet, if he came back.

He promised.

* * *

"It's funny."

Shynkon replied without opening his eyes. "What is?"

Ami rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "It's just, I feel I've lived this moment before."

His eyelids flickered open and he regarded her with interest. "Oh?"

She shook her head and smiled. "Probably just a dream I had."

After that they were silent again, content merely to be close to one another.

* * *

His lips were moving now, but no sound emerged.

Ami watched him with fascination: his arm poised above the board; his eyes narrowed slightly with concentration and his lips moving wordlessly, silently voicing a strategy. She stared at his mouth. Was he even aware he was doing it?

She thought again of her first kiss. She had dreamed of it so often, envisioned it in secret stories and wondered who would share it and how it would taste. She had always known that when the time was right, she would just feel it.

And perhaps, later, when the watchful eye of the sun had drifted into slumber and they were alone beneath a sea of stars, just the two of them in all the universe...

Perhaps then, the time would be right.

"Your move."

She raised her eyes to meet his and smiled, and then looked down at the board. It was tiny, a portable version of the game light enough to carry in her bicycle's basket, but it had little pieces carved from wood and painted by hand and she loved it dearly. "Hey," said Shynkon as she selected a piece and carefully made her move, "What were you thinking about, before?"

Ami feigned innocence. "Before?"

"When I made my move. You weren't even looking at the board."

"Oh, that." She thought about it for a moment, idly pushed a strand of cerulean hair behind her ear and replied, "I'll tell you later."

**THE END**


End file.
